


A Favour for a Friend

by Markov_Debris



Series: Awaiting Universe [29]
Category: Doctor Who (2005), Torchwood
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Torture, Spoilers for Radio Plays, Spoilers for Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2017-12-07
Packaged: 2019-02-08 08:51:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 51
Words: 73,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12861066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Markov_Debris/pseuds/Markov_Debris
Summary: Jack and Ianto are enjoying their life after Torchwood when the Doctor arrives to ask a simple favour.  Some things though never end up being simple and the fate of Earth, and the Universe, is at stake.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This story is the sequel to both Getting There in Time and Stockholm Syndrome. It will mention events in both stories plus events in the Object and Company Series, however you don't have to read them to enjoy this story.  
> I hope that you enjoy and get the answers to you questions.
> 
> I have also created "A Favour in Time" Series so that you can read this story and Getting There in Time in Chronological Order for the Doctor.

 

**Jaret cast a lazy eye towards Prince Yanayan of Terralia’s party.  Despite King Rolaris’ request that he be respectful, he had no intention of fawning.**

**After all he was a prince too, though he had no kingdom of his own.  He saw nothing special in a Prince from a kingdom that had long ago banished him as a curse.**

**The bitterness he felt surprised him.  Rolaris was the only monarch willing to give him sanctuary, yet even after all these centuries his resentment against the others was still strong.**

**Jaret was slouched against a wall looking sullen when Prince Yanayan removed his helmet.**

**The Immortal could feel his jaw dropping in the most undignified manner.  He’d never seen anyone so beautiful.**

**Deep within him something stirred, something taskldfh;asdofj]o#d**

 

“Gotta,” Ianto announced pouncing on Jack’s shoulders making his fingers crush the keyboard.

The Immortal shot guiltily into the air and tried to move away but was blocked by Ianto’s body.   Jack had been warned not to use the Welshman’s computer but he hadn’t been able to resist.

Jack turned to look at Ianto as the Welshman leant over him, scanning the lines on the screen.  He looked as beautiful as he had the day they married.

Familiar happiness filled the Immortal.

After over a hundred years of serving Torchwood, losing Suzie, Tosh and Owen, being buried for nearly two thousand years and then losing his brother for the second time, he had never expected to feel such joy and peace.

It was nearly losing Ianto as well that made Jack appreciate how much the Welshman meant to him. 

They had been arrested by tribuneral full of people out to get him.  While he was eventually freed; Ianto had had his memory erased and given a false life away from Torchwood. 

The ones behind it all wanted his lover to become vulnerable enough that they could successfully use a mind probe on him and take the secrets Torchwood One’s chief Archivist had had hidden in the Welshman’s mind.

Jack couldn’t let anything happen to him.  At first he’d just watched, but when he realised they intended to hurt Ianto, he had kidnapped the Welshman himself and dragged him around the country keeping away from those looking for him.

Of course they’d caught up with them in the end.  He and Ianto had been captured and they tried to get the information but the Welshman had been prepared, outsmarted the bad guys but not without a cost to himself.

Ianto had been comatose, at his bedside Jack said told the Welshman that he wanted to marry him, was ready to marry him.  And he woke up saying yes.

Being without his memories had changed Ianto.  He found a peace and acceptance that he hadn’t had whilst working at Torchwood.

Jack couldn’t let him go back.

They hadn’t just gotten married, they had both left Torchwood and Jack had no regrets.

Well he did sometimes, but he had an understanding husband that knew he loved to help out Gwen and her new team occasionally.

“What is this, Prince Yanayan?  You didn’t like Queen Gayalari?” the Welshman asked.

Ianto of course chose other outlets to stave off his boredom, though Jack suspected that he occasionally helped Torchwood too, keeping their records up to date.

He had gone through a series of projects and activities unit he finally settled on writing. 

Jack knew that Ianto had always kept a diary.  Unfortunately most of them were now locked up in the Hub because they contained details of their cases and encounters.

At first the Welshman’s writing was an extension of that, a way of venting the thoughts and feelings about Torchwood that he’d kept bottled up inside.

Ianto had then transformed his experienced into fiction but after a while he shied away from sci-fi and into the realms of fantasy.

Over the next few months Ianto’s scribbles started to change direction.  He started creating plotlines and characters for a novel in which the events he had already written down could feature.

Not that he let Jack see anything he’d written.  The Welshman was shy about his work, uncertain of his abilities and at first the Immortal had let him be.

Then his curiosity got too much and one night he snuck down to read the first few chapters.  Ianto was a very good writer and Jack enjoyed reading his work.

The Immortal knew that he couldn’t hide what he’d done from his husband.  So he wrote him a note, praising what he’d read, giving a few hints of improvements and what he hoped would happen next.

He left his note beside the computer and when back to bed.

The next day Ianto spent ten minutes staring at the note.  Jack hadn’t dared interrupt him, fearful of what his final reaction would be.

Ianto didn’t look at him, he turned his computer on and brought up his book.  He spent the whole morning reading though those first chapters, occasionally consulting the note, and making changes.

When he finished, Ianto told him to get undressed and wait for him in the bedroom.  He was punished and pleasured into a state of absolute bliss as the Welshman told him not to look at his book again without permission.

However a week later he handed Jack the next few chapters to read and give his opinion on.  Now into the second novel, the Immortal was still enjoying it apart from one thing.

 “Please, you’re a brilliant writer Ianto but that Jaret and Gayalari’s secret relationship is so vanilla,” Jack replied not denying the fact that he’s been caught.

“Well you know what they say, you write from experience,” Ianto replied deadpan.

Jack jumped away from the computer and rounded on his husband.

“There is nothing vanilla about your relationships,” Jack said firmly but Ianto raised an eyebrow in challenge.

“Jack,” Ianto said warily as the Immortal began to stalk towards him.

“Jack.”

The Immortal lifted the Welshman up and put him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.  Ianto laughed and struggled slightly as he was taken into the bedroom.

“I will show you vanilla,” Jack growled as he began to remove Ianto’s clothes.

The Welshman protested half heartedly as he was kissed and groped mercilessly by the man he loved.  Then, when naked and hard, he was thrown heavily onto their bed.

Jack stripped in second and swiftly moved to hover over Ianto.

“You cheat,” the Welshman accused as the Immortal removed a navy blue butt plug and impaled himself on Ianto’s waiting shaft.

“Only because I love you,” Jack said, the words coming so easily to him.

“Yes,” the Immortal cried out as Ianto sat up penetrating deeper.

A passionate kiss stopped any more words from escaping his lips, though he did chuckle afterwards.  The Welshman got his revenge by moving his cock over the Immortal’s prostate.

They began to move as one, their cries of passion getting louder and louder.

Neither man heard the trumpeting sound of the TARDIS’ engines as it landed in the lounge.  Alarmed by the sounds coming from the bedroom the Time Lord rushed in to save his friends.

Neither man noticed him enter and stop, staring at them.

“I’ll just go and make some tea and wait for you to finish,” the Doctor said too quietly for them to hear.

The Time Lord’s legs refused to move for several minutes before a pang of loneliness stimulated them into leaving the lovers alone.

 


	2. Chapter Two

Jack lay on his side facing Ianto but he wasn’t really looking at the Welshman.  The Immortal’s eyes followed his hand as it moved nervously in circles over his stomach.

He looked up at his husband as Ianto placed a gentle hand over his, the reassuring smile, the one that said _no matter what you’re wonderful to me_ , changed Jack’s nerves to arousal like most of the Welshman’s smiles.

He pounced on top of Ianto and kissed him thoroughly.  He could feel the little Captain start to stir when his husband pulled away.

“Much as I would love for this to continue shouldn’t we see to our guest?” the Welshman asked.

“Guest?” Jack asked in confusion.

“Well I know I was preoccupied but I’m fairly sure neither of us closed the door,” Ianto replied with an amused smile.

Jack looked to see that Ianto was right and fear gripped him.  The idea that there was an intruder, someone that could hurt his husband frightened him.

Ianto rested a gently hand on his arm, smiled at him and Jack relaxed. 

Despite being three thousand years less evolved and a few thousand years younger, Ianto had greater psychic ability than Jack.

Ianto’s natural awareness, which was greater than most twenty-first century humans, had been trained and enhanced during his time at Torchwood One.

The trauma of the Battle of Canary Wharf had damaged those abilities.  Occasionally during his time at Torchwood Cardiff those abilities would emerge but not often.

While they were fugitives though, Jack had taken Ianto to Torchwood Two for answers.  Archie had given them a massage oil to help the Welshman relax.

Neither man realised until afterwards that the massage oil was a psychic stimulant that worked on both of them. 

That night was the first of several where their intimate lovemaking involved not just the physical expression of their feelings but mental and emotional entwining as well.  Not knowing that they were transmitting their feelings they made Glasgow quite a loved up city for a few day.

Since their marriage, Ianto’s awareness began returning to its former strength, so if he sensed their guest wasn’t a threat Jack believed him.

The growing bond between them had worried the Immortal at first; what would happen to Ianto if he was to die.  That was one of the reasons Jack was happy to leave Torchwood.

There had been moments in the past when Ianto had retreated inside himself.  Jack was terrified that if he ever died, it would cause his husband to hide and never come out.

Ironically Torchwood didn’t bring about his first death after his marriage.  He was killed pushing a boy out of the path of a speeding car.

For the first time in his Immortality death didn’t bring him to a cold empty darkness.  Jack was aware of something with him, not a light as such, more a warmth.

He was drawn towards it, unable to stop himself; needing the warmth he headed for it without thinking.

Jack opened his eyes and looked straight into Ianto’s.  His husband bent down and kissed him, his love numbing the pain of his return.

It took a while for him to realise that the warmth in death’s darkness had been Ianto, that he and his husband had still been aware of each other while Jack was in that terrible place.

The implications of what that would mean when their roles were reversed were too terrifying to contemplate.

Ianto brushed his arm again bringing Jack back from his melancholy thoughts.

There was concern and patience in those beautiful blue eyes.  Whatever move they made next was Jack’s choice.

Fierce love overwhelmed him.  Jack kissed and touched Ianto intimately making the Welshman laugh with delight.

In a swift movement Jack positioned himself over Ianto, onto Ianto then rolled them so that the Welshman was above him.

Ianto moved slowly causing Jack to moan loudly at his prostate was tortured by pleasure.

“Oh for crying out loud,” the Doctor’s voice called from below making both men pause.

Ianto smiled with guilty amusement but Jack growled.  The Welshman blinked at him.

Jack knew the Doctor was one of his best friends but at that moment he resented him.  He had the feeling that whatever the Time Lord wanted it would take him away from the man that was his heart.

Ianto bent down and kissed him.  With that kiss he poured his love into Jack.

It was a good few minutes before Jack was aware of anything but that love.  When he was, the Immortal realised that their bodies were moving, Ianto was thrusting gently into him and he was matching him movement for movement.

They came together and held each other through the aftershocks.  As Ianto moved to withdraw Jack held him tight.

“I love you Ianto,” he said urgently.

It amazed Jack that a few years ago those were the words he most feared saying, most feared hearing.  Now he was terrified of not being able to say them, of not hearing them.

Ianto firmly took Jack’s left hand and drew it to his face.  He kissed the golden wedding ring he wore gently as he looked into the Immortal’s eyes.

The fear of parting from his husband calmed.  No matter what crazy journey the Doctor might want to take them on, Ianto would always be his, would always wait for him to return.

“I love you too Jack,” Ianto said when he was sure Jack had understood his gesture.

They kissed passionately before Jack let him go.

With deliberate slowness the Immortal and his husband cleaned themselves up before dressing and going to see what the Doctor wanted.


	3. Chapter Three

The Doctor pressed his finger lightly into the chocolate fairy cakes, just as Ianto had taught him, to check that they sprung back.

Satisfied that they were cooked he withdrew the trays from the oven and put them on the glass hob to cool.  He then inspected the vanilla ones he’d left on the cooling rack earlier and decided to move them onto a plate to ice.

The Time Lord was sure there was some sort of etiquette on what to do when you drop by to see a couple of friends and discover that they’re busy, he was fairly certain it didn’t include permission to use the oven while waiting.

The Doctor however had needed to something to scrub the image of Jack and Ianto together from his mind. 

After a quick nose around he saw that the Welshman was due to visit Powell House, the place where the orphans of alien encounters live, and decided to cook cakes for them as he had done before.

Of course the visit to Powell house was several weeks away but he had a time machine, it was simplicity itself to cook the cakes now and drop them off in the future so that they were still fresh.

That plan decided on, he began to raid the kitchen for the necessary equipment and ingredients.  The Time Lord had half hoped that he would need to go to the shops to get a few ingredients but Ianto’s cupboards were too well stocked.

Seeing Jack and Ianto together had really made him feel uncomfortable.  It wasn’t the act of coitus that disturbed him so much as the sheer happiness and love that radiated from both men.

He could still feel those emotions echoing around him.  One of them, probably Ianto, was broadcasting his feelings letting other people feel his love for Jack.

Such love was one of the most beautiful things in the universe but to the Time Lord it was bittersweet.

The Doctor knew that he would never be able to have love like that.  His people were gone and the only human with a claim upon his hearts he had sent to a parallel universe with a half human version of himself.

He paused as he mixed his icing, thinking about Rose and conjured her image in his mind, her laugh, her smile, her fiery determination.

Without realising it though the image changed.  A different blond came into his mind, older, curly haired in an environmental suit.

She knew things that frightened him, like his real name, and when she asked him to trust her he knew that he had to before he watched her die for him.

The sound of footsteps hurrying down the stairs jolted the Doctor out of his thoughts about River Song and what she was going to mean to him.

He begun to spoon the icing onto half of the vanilla fairy cakes as Jack appeared seconds later wearing a huge, satisfied grin.  Ianto came into view moments later looking impeccable, even in casual wear.

“Mmmm, those smell almost as good as Ianto,” Jack said with unashamedness of someone very much in love.

The Welshman flushed, ducked his head slightly, but smiled, pleased, as he headed past the Time Lord and towards the coffee maker.

Ianto was definitely the one transmitting his feelings.  The Doctor found himself drawn to the warm glow of emotion that surrounded him and turned.

The Welshman looked at him and then suddenly the wonderful sensation was gone.  Ianto looked at him in apology and the Doctor smiled, unable to be angry, despite the hurt left in the wake of those feelings.

A flicker of Ianto’s eyes and the Doctor turned sharply.  He slapped Jack’s hand away from the cakes.

“Those are for the children of Powell House,” the Time Lord admonished.

“But that’s weeks away,” Jack protested.

The Doctor noticed crumbs down the Immortal’s shirt and looked to see the empty case that had once contained a fairy cake, a victim to Jack’s appetite.

“I have a time machine, they will still be just as fresh then as they are now,” the Time Lord informed him giving his friend his best warning stare.

Jack pouted at being told off and denied another cake.  Before the pout could develop into a sulk Ianto materialised between them bearing coffee and tea.

Both men thanked the Welshman and Ianto sat his husband down.  He promised the Immortal that he would cook him a cake later as he moved around the Time Lord to turn off the empty oven off.

The Doctor asked Jack how things were going while he waited for the chocolate fairy cakes to cool.  Ianto looked at him, knowing that this was a delaying tactic but said nothing.

Jack was quite happy to chat about married life and his occasional work for Torchwood.  He also sang Ianto’s praises as an author until the Welshman hushed him in embarrassment.

The Doctor didn’t need to know how good Ianto was as a writer, he had signed first edition copies of every book.

Once the chocolate fairy cakes cooled he iced half of them.  Ianto handed him a Pyrex bowl and some chocolate which he broke up and melted before using it to decorate the remaining cakes.

The Doctor deliberately ignored Ianto’s removal of a chocolate covered chocolate fairy cake.  He knew it would soon be consumed by Jack but he wasn’t in the mood to make a fuss.

The Time Lord was reminded sharply of why he never visited those he left behind.  Most he hoped were happy living their lives like Jack and Ianto, if the situation hadn’t been so potentially disastrous, he would never have come.

Ianto protected the remaining fairy cakes by directing them into the lounge.  They sat together companionably until the Doctor couldn’t stand it any longer.

“I came because I need your help with something,” the Time Lord announced.

“What?” Jack asked casually, his fingers dancing on one of Ianto’s thighs.

“I need your help finding the Box of Oncreith.”

 

 


	4. Chapter Four

When the Doctor could no longer see the flying red bus, he ducked into the TARDIS and closed the door.  He felt a pang of regret at not taking Lady Christine de Souza up on her offer to travel with him but he had to remain firm.

He knew that she would have been brilliant.  She was an improviser, witty, great leadership skills and fun but travelling with him was bound to change that and he had suffered too many losses, too many heartbreaks when his friends decided to leave.

Giving Christine her freedom from the law was the only gift he could give her.

He walked swiftly to the TARDIS console and set the controls to take him away.  The Time Lord wasn’t fully concentrating on what he was doing but knew that the old girl would know what he wanted.

A few minutes later they landed.  He peered outside and realised that even without Christine, she had influenced his travel plans.

Beyond the door was an archaeological dig surrounded by hilly green fields and forest.  The two moons overhead, one red, one blue, confirmed that this definitely wasn’t Earth.

 Despite what he had told River Song the Doctor wasn’t against _all_ archaeologists, in fact a few lifetimes ago he had travelled with one.

He also found archaeological digs fascinating, well alien archaeological digs, he knew a bit too much about human history to find human archaeological digs anything more than a waste of time, unless something alien was uncovered.

The people coming towards him were definitely alien.

They had small, catlike faces but what he had thought of as their manes were not fur but a plume of feathers.  Their movements also has a twitchiness that seemed to be a cross between a cat and a bird’s.

“Have you come to stake a claim?” one of them asked, a female he thought judging from the slightly dull looking plumage.

“No I’m just a traveller passing through.   Why would you think that I had a claim, this is you’re planet presumably and your ancestors ruins?” the Time Lord asked.

“Our planet yes but not our ancestors,” she replied.

“You’re colonists?” The Doctor was surprised.

Looking at them he could see a strange mix of equipment, the majority was on a par with 1930’s earth.  Yet some of their equipment looked much more sophisticated and as though it was made by someone else.

“No we are natives, just not the first race.  I’m Vikiri, if you are interested I can explain,” she offered.

“We don’t know who he is.  He could be a saboteur,” another of the aliens hissed, his brighter red and green plumage made the Time Lord think of him as male.

“I’m the Doctor and I’m not a saboteur just a traveller.  I’d be fascinated to know more,” he replied smiling amiably.

Vikiri smiled back and pronounced, “Well that proves it, the cult of Oncreack can’t smile.”

Around him all of the aliens started smiling with varying degrees of genuineness and falseness.  They all looked at each other, just as the Doctor was looking at them, checking everyone could smile.

Vikiri held out her hand, which looked like it had retractable claws, and the Doctor took that as an invitation to come with her and look at the dig.  As she led the way she explained her people’s history

Her people were Chichari and the planet Tutal, always they had lived in the shadows of the first race the Oncreath.  Their ruins littered the planet in varying degrees decay.

At first Vikiri’s ancestors stayed away from the Oncreath ruins but later began to explore them.  They were wary, after all something had destroyed them, but after a while they began to feel that it was safe.

“You see in all of the Oncreath artefacts they uncovered, pottery, paintings, literature, frescos, only Mokai, the red moon is in the sky.  My ancestors decided that it was the coming of Jojar, the blue moon, our moon that was the end of the Oncreath,” she explained.

“Well that is possible, the gravitational effect of a new moon could cause apocalyptic destruction,” he said dubiously, he could tell that she didn’t believe it and was relishing the chance to explain.

“Yet it does not make sense.  The city of Lorack was perfectly preserved, no damage at all save that of time, surely a moon coming into orbit would have caused earthquakes, cracks in the buildings?

“We also have uncovered evidence that, unlike us, the Oncreath were capable of space travel.  They could have evacuated the planet but why not return when the world had settled down?” she asked.

“That’s why you wanted to know if I had a claim,” the Doctor stated and she nodded.

They were silent for a few minutes while they walked past a few archaeologists working in a trench.  She was leading him towards a hill with an entrance carved into it.

“A hundred years ago one of our historians re-translated some of the Oncreath’s writing.  He determined that the apocalypse that wiped them out wasn’t the coming of Jojar but a war.

“The details are sketchy, they refer mostly to a great darkness and evil.  Friends turned against each other.  One account talks of a brother who once on the enemy side no longer recognised his kin, who no longer smiled,” Vikiri said meaningfully.

“Let me guess the cult of Oncreack started worshiping this dark evil as the ones who destroyed the Oncreath so that the Chichari could live,” the Time Lord said with a sad sigh.

“Sadly yes, they mutilate their faces to make smiling impossible.  It’s the first thing an initiate undergoes,” she added with great pity.

Vikiri handed the Time Lord a protective helmet that looked like it was made of woven straw and hardened mud.  They then proceeded into the hill. 

She said nothing as though she was trying to remember the way.  Her lamp moved from side to side looking for familiar markers.

After a while the Doctor could see that the walls around them were built not carved by person or nature.  They were inside a building that had been buried.

The lighting was low and they suddenly entered a vast space.  Vikiri crossed to a generator and turned up the power.

White walls were illuminated, it looked like they were in a church or temple.  High up, darkened by the rock behind it was what looked like a stained glass window.

It depicted two moons, one red and one blue.

“This is the only known Oncreath structure on the planet that depicts Jojar and also the youngest.  This is the sanctuary of a city sized fortress, it seems to be a place of worship where the blue moon was revered,” Vikiri said reverently.

The Doctor could tell that the Chichari almost worshiped Jojar, understandable if they believed that its coming was what had allowed them to gain sentience.

He had seen enough beliefs toppled to know the insanity and chaos they could cause.  The Time Lord wondered why Vikiri was so willing to share the knowledge with him, an outsider.

“This fortress was the place where the Oncreath made their last stand.  They believed they had a weapon that would wipe out their enemy.

“There are dire warnings mentioning a box somewhere within the fortress.  Most think it contains the weapon that defeated the Oncreath’s enemy, the cult of Oncreack believe that it contains the dark enemy they worship,” Vikiri said.

“What do you think?” the Time Lord asked.

“I think that if the last of the Oncreath were smart and scared enough to give us the warning they will have put labels on the box.  Until it is found we won’t know, and when it is found, perhaps it would be for the best if it were destroyed,” she said looking at him hopefully.

Now he understood.  While the historian part of her wanted to know, the cautious part of her felt that if it was too dangerous for her people and it was best got rid of.

He had won her trust with a single smile because she believed the worshippers of the Oncreath’s enemy could not.  Vikiri’s naivety touched his hearts and he promised with a sincere smile that he would do what he could to help.

Neither of them got to find out the truth.

The Time Lord spent the rest of the day in the sanctuary and helped Vikiri locate a possible site for the box to have been hidden.  That evening he enjoyed the Chichari’s hospitality as they ate and talked.

In the middle of the night they dig site was raided.  Vikiri was killed trying to stop the raiders from blowing up the part of the sanctuary where they thought the box was and taking it.

He promised the Chichari archaeologist that he would go after them and stop them getting whatever was inside. 

As the Doctor got out into the open, he was slightly shocked and the Chichari all scattered in fear as they saw a spaceship taking off.

 


	5. Chapter Five

“I followed them in the TARDIS but as soon and they left the planet they became caught in a Rift eddy.  I knew it would lead to Cardiff but I have no idea when it or even if it’s come out the other side,” the Doctor said sadly, his thoughts still with Vikiri.

“Do you have a description of the box?” Ianto asked.

“It’s a foot and a half long by seven inches wide and tall. It looks like black stone carved and inlaid with gold and silver but weighs five kilos max,” the Time Lord replied as they followed the Welshman out of the kitchen and to his study where the computer Jack had been using that morning was still on.

The Welshman saved and closed the novel draft and established a secure link with the Hub’s archive computer.

“So did you find out what did happen to the Oncreath?” Jack asked.

“Yes, thanks to the TARDIS’s translation circuits I was able to help Vikiri uncovered the truth just before we found the location of the box.  In fact that’s how we found the box.

“It seems that an off-worlder saved the people in the sanctuary.  He is the one who gave them the weapon or trapped the enemy in the box,” the Time Lord began.

“One of yours?” Jack asked.

“I don’t know maybe later.  Unfortunately whoever the off-worlder was he arrived too late, none of the survivors were capable of having children.

“I think whatever the stranger did brought Jojar into orbit and the window was added after the enemy was vanquished.  The area where the box was hidden was definitely altered after the rest of the fortress was built; that’s how we found the antechamber with the story on it,” the Doctor replied.

“And someone in the universe knew the box was there, someone was watching,” Jack added thinking of the spaceship hidden amongst a society that didn’t have the technology for one.

“Yes.  If the stranger wasn’t me and he returned to the stars he could have let word slip about the box.  Cults like the Oncreack are by no means unique.”

“Hmmm,” Ianto said thoughtfully making the other two turn to him.

“Whatya got?” Jack asked.

Ianto didn’t answer straight away instead he turned and looked the Doctor in the eye.

“At the same moment the void ship entered the Torchwood Tower, a space ship came through the Rift and crashed just outside Cardiff.  The space ship was destroyed and the only artefact that survived sounds like your box,” the younger man said.

Both of them turned to Jack as the oldest member of Torchwood.

“Don’t look at me I never saw it.  A couple of days before the Void Ship came through we found several bodies that suggested there was  a nest of Cornartal’s in Grange Town eating the residence.

“I was sent in to deal with them, unfortunately I made a mistake and ended up in as one of the supplies in their larder.  It took me six days to escape.

“When I got back it was to find out that Torchwood London had taken an interest in the wreckage because they thought there was a connection, so they took it and the wreckage including the box,” Jack explained.  The Time Lord gave him a look so he added.

“Hey neither I nor Hartman were in charge then, the relationship between London and Cardiff was more cordial.  Alex’s people had found nothing of interest in the box beyond the fact that it survived completely intact.  He knew London had better equipment and wished them luck.”

The Doctor nodded accepting the statement and turned back to Ianto.

“So what happened to everything from Torchwood One?”

“I made sure all the dangerous and most of the interesting stuff came with me to Cardiff.  Archie at Torchwood Two got all the personnel records, the personal effects of those lost as well as the boring items and UNIT got the rest,” Jack answered before Ianto had a chance to.

“So which one of them has the box?”

“None of them,” Ianto replied and the other two men stared at him in surprise.

“We all got of a copy of the inventory of Torchwood One’s Archives, unfortunately Jack and the others didn’t bother to inventory what they took with them from London.

“It took me months to catalogue what we had and I included the stuff that I’d taken from Torchwood One myself.  I then contacted Archie and my counterpart at UNIT’s Black Archives and got copies of their inventories as agreed.

“There were 207 artefacts missing,” the Welshman began.

“What, I didn’t know about this,” Jack exclaimed in hurt surprise.

“At the time I was still looking after Lisa, I didn’t want you to find out about the artefacts that I had taken in case you asked why.  Afterwards I wrote you a report but I guess you didn’t read it,” Ianto replied looking down apologetically.

“I didn’t want to so I got Tosh to go through them.  She gave me a bit of a telling off and said you made some recommendations in some of your reports for improvements that she thought were a good idea;  so I gave her the go head,” Jack replied kneeling down in front of his husband to get him to look at him.

 Ianto looked into Jack’s eyes and saw forgiveness there.  The Welshman smiled shyly and the Immortal pounced, kissing him deeply.

“Stop it,” the Doctor complained half heartedly.

He was sure the kiss lasted a few seconds longer than necessary before they broke apart and both men stood up.

“Anyway all three of us double checked what we had and Archie checked the employees personal effects and located 16 of the artefacts.

“UNIT went to see the survivors and tactfully located another 12 amongst their possessions.  They also has some of their people looking through Torchwood One’s CCTV footage and observed the destruction of 50-80 artefacts during the battle,” Ianto continued as though he hadn’t been upset and passionately kissed.

“So what happened to the rest?” the Time Lord asked.

“The government investigators had preserved CCTV footage from outside Canary Wharf from before all hell broke loose until after the Tower was cleaned out and the ordinary businesses could start using it again.

“Amongst that footage was some of UNIT soldiers loading up the trucks, only one of the trucks didn’t belong to them and it never made it to the Black Archive,” Ianto told him.

“And the box was on board.  Is there a way of tracking the artefacts?” the Doctor asked bouncing on the balls of his feet as though he could sense the answer was ‘yes’.

“A few months before the Battle a new security system was installed in the Archives, in addition to passes, the computer would take a bio scan based on the most recent medical.  Anyone not authorised would get sprayed with an isotope that’s harmless but traceable, it’s absorbed into the skin and lasts for six months.

“It sprayed both on entry and exit so that if you try and leave with an artefact you’re not authorised to take you get sprayed even if you had the clearance to enter. 

“The system was designed so that the computer only prevented you from being sprayed, that way it would work in an emergency like the aftermath of the battle.” Ianto told him.

“So they recovered the artefacts,” the Time Lord said hopefully.

“Unfortunately no, there was no large collection of signals except at UNIT and Torchwood so the artefacts must have undergone some decontamination. 

“It was a long shot that the people who stole the artefacts hadn’t undergone decon too but we tried it anyway.  However once UNIT had eliminated their own people and Torchwood’s they found seven signals each one leading to a mutilated corpse, they’re still trying to identify them,” Ianto replied sadly.

“So how do we find it?” the Time Lord asked slightly defeated.

“Come with me,” Ianto replied getting up from the computer and moving away.

 


	6. Chapter Six

Jack and Ianto’s house in Cardiff really was far too big for just two people.  However both men had spent too much time underground at the Hub to settle now for a cramped little flat, besides they could afford a big house.

There were enough rooms for them to spread out.  Ianto had his study and Jack had a large room for his studio where he loved to paint, usually pictures of his husband in various states of undress.

There was a new Playroom in the house now that they could no longer use the one in the Hub.  They only ever used it when they were feeling kinky or when one of them wanted to capture the moments of their lovemaking on camera.

Both men also had a private room that the other wasn’t allowed to enter.  They acknowledged that there were moments when they would need to have space away from each other.

To Jack’s surprise Ianto was leading them to his private room.

While the Welshman routed in his pocket from his keys, the Doctor gave Jack a look to ask what was inside.  The Immortal could only shrug, after all he’d never been in there.

The inside looked like it belonged to a fanatical conspiracy theorist.

There was a computer and printer that were only attached to each other and an electricity supply and the walls looked like a cross between a stalker’s wall of worship and a police incident board.

A small bed and a couple of standing wardrobes were the only really normal things in this room.

“You really haven’t been in here?” the Time Lord said a little worried.

“This is Ianto’s private room I’ve never been invited here before,” Jack replied as he stared at the walls.

“Do you have a private room?”

“Yes but it’s nothing like this.”

“What’s in it?” the Time Lord asked curious.

“Ianto.  I have pictures, keepsakes, recordings of Ianto,” Jack replied.

“Let me guess in most of them he isn’t wearing any clothes,” the Doctor said and the Immortal shrugged.

“I’ve lived alone for the best part of two hundred years.  I realised that when I needed to get away, to be by myself I still wanted Ianto with me,” Jack answered looking at his beautiful husband as he blushed slightly.

“I don’t come in here to get away from you Jack, I come in here to keep you and the rest of the world safe,” Ianto told him reassuringly.

Jack suddenly felt very shallow and selfish, unlike the wonderful man he loved who always thought of others.

“Of course I do sometimes come in here for the contents of that wardrobe,” Ianto added with a mischievous smile indicating an ornate wooden antique.

Knowing it was an irresistible invitation Jack turned and went to inspect the object in question.  The inside looked more like the contents of his private room, except it was all about him instead of Ianto.

Love and lust kindled in him at the sight and he turned to the man he loved fully intending to act on his feelings. 

A gently cough from the Doctor reminded Jack that this wasn’t the time or place, though Ianto’s wink let him know that later it would be.

“On our wedding day all I wanted was to devote the rest of my life to being happy with you.  However only a fool believes that if he ignores then the world the world will ignore him.

“So when we got back from our honeymoon I started looking into the people behind my kidnapping.  UNIT managed to round them up quickly of course thanks to Wormstrom.”

“Wormstrom?” the Doctor asked.

“Wormstrom is a super computer virus designed to protect me.  If you gather enough data on me in one place you create Wormstrom, the data itself is clean but assembling it creates the virus.

“When Wormstrom is active it then assesses what kind of threat you pose and seeks a way to counteract it.  It wasn’t able to prevent my initial arrest and the erasure of my memory but it saved us the second time,” Ianto explained.

“That vengeance protocol caught everyone off guard,” Jack commented darkly.

“Vengeance Protocol?” the Time Lord asked.

“Wormstrom told the Dolerig’s that if they harmed Ianto Jones it would use their money to hire assassins to kill their families and friends,” Jack explained.

“I still say that doesn’t sound like something Davey would have done,” Ianto frowning.

“Well Wormstom did say it was added after,” Jack said placing a reassuring hand on the Welshman. 

Neither man noticed the Time Lord stiffen beside them.  He knew of one individual who would add such a protocol to a program designed to protect Ianto Harkness-Jones.

“Anyway, while we only got to see Fredericks and Ann Taylor, there was an entire group of mercenaries behind our arrest and the manhunt.  You know apart from the some goons who were hired muscle they were the perfect team to get me out of Torchwood,” Ianto said all business.

“Presumably that’s why the Dolrig’s hired them,” Jack said slightly confused, he knew there was something in Ianto’s statement that he hadn’t got.

“That’s what UNIT thought too, but they’ve been the perfect team to get me out of Torchwood since I agreed to start hiding secrets in my head for George,” Ianto replied.

“What?” Jack exclaimed.

Ianto lead them to one of the walls where they could see a number of pictures, with details about that person, being adding with arrows to a timeline.

Jack immediately recognised Fredericks and Ann Taylor’s pictures.  The timeline lead to a circle with ‘Attempt Made – Failure all arrested or killed’ inside a circle at the end.

It was only after that he looked to the beginning and saw that it said ‘Target Ianto Jones’. 

He looked at a few others and saw that all of them had ‘Target’ before a person or object’s name.  There was then a timeline of individuals presumably joining the gang.  Not all of them had final outcomes yet.

“As you can see they recruited Fredericks just before the Battle of Canary Wharf, he stole several artefacts for them before joining.  When I came to Cardiff to join Torchwood here there was a slight change of personnel but once again they became ideal people for kidnapping me.

“The thing is, apart from Fredericks and Ann Taylor none of them showed the slightest interest in me until the Dolrig’s hired them.”

Jack and the Doctor exchanged looks.  Fear gnawed at the Immortal’s stomach, his wonderful Ianto had been on someone’s list of targets all these years, it was a terrifying concept.

“My first job at Torchwood was as a researcher.  I looked for patterns, unusual things that could mean to alien involvement.

“I continued that here in Cardiff but when Tosh and Owen died I rather let the research part of my job slide,” Ianto began. 

Jack squeezed his husband’s shoulder and sadness at the loss of their friends washed over them.  The Immortal had only recovered, had only been able to go on because of Ianto,

“When I finally got a quiet morning to look at all the data the computer had stored for me, I began to notice patterns.  There were a large number of crimes, mostly against secret organisations who deal with aliens, which were committed perfectly,” Ianto continued waiving at part of the wall.

“They were committed by different mercenary teams and I quickly realised that there were a lot of such teams out there, doing odd jobs, until one they are perfect for comes along.

“With thirty percent of them, after their perfect crime was committed the team were murdered.”

“Just like the people who stole the box from Canary Wharf,” the Time Lord said quietly.

Jack could tell the Doctor wasn’t liking what Ianto was telling him any more than he did.  There was no doubting Ianto’s facts in the Immortal’s mind, but the scale was frightening.

“Five days before our arrest, I tested my theory.  A mercenary group caught my attention, their recent activities, their contacts and the date the group formed suggested that they were getting ready to steal an artefact from the Black Archives.

“I sent my friend there a warning and he moved the artefact to a safer location.  When the mercenaries got in to steal it they were arrested by UNIT forces.

“An hour after the arrest the Dolrig’s contacted Frederick’s team about retrieving the treaty from my mind,” Ianto said firmly.

“So whoever has the box is powerful and enigmatic and we still don’t know where they are,” the Time Lord said worried.

“Oh I know where they are, they’re in Canary Wharf, in the Torchwood Tower,” Ianto Harkness-Jones informed them.

 


	7. Chapter Seven

Before they could ask Ianto anything, he announced that they should probably continue the discussion somewhere more comfortable.

He instructed Jack and the Doctor to help him bring six full lever arch files with them.  Ianto then locked the door behind him as they left and headed back to the lounge.

“What are these?” the Doctor asked.

“They are the images, description and disappearance details of every alien artefact that has gone missing in the last thirty years.

“I started initially with just the stuff from Torchwood One and I added to it every time something else disappeared.  I then started looking for past missing items when I realised the thefts had been happening before the Battle.

“Now I know that this mystery puppet master can’t be behind all of it, but it’s good to keep a record anyway in case something turns up,” Ianto replied setting the files he was carrying on the coffee table.

“I’ll get us some tea and coffee,” he said and headed for the kitchen.

The Doctor ignored Jack as he put his files down and followed his husband.  Instead he kept hold of one of his files and opened it up as he sat down.

He didn’t begrudge the other two men for wanting a few private moments alone.  Ianto’s puppet master theory was quite a frightening thing to comprehend and the mention of Canary Wharf always brought up dark memories for all of them.

As he flicked though the file the Doctor found himself thinking about losing Rose for the second time that day.

Her refusal to go with her parents to the safety of the parallel universe was both wonderful and frightening.  Rose promised to stay with him forever and the Doctor so wanted that to happen.

Of course it had to be her lever that started to close.  Rose did the only thing she could, she opened it again

In doing so, in letting go of the magna clamp, she allowed the forces sucking her into the void to increase until she couldn’t hold on.

If Pete hadn’t returned at the last second to save her she would have been lost forever.  Instead of dying she was trapped on the other side where he couldn’t follow and now she no longer needed him to.

Of course for Ianto the memories of the Torchwood Tower were worse.  Ianto Jones had told the Doctor all about Lisa, her half cyber-conversion and the lengths he had gone to try and save her.

The Time Lord didn’t have it in his hearts to mention that he had met other half converted humans before, that some even retained most of their personality.

The Doctor imagined that Lisa had been like that at the beginning.  He didn’t want to believe that Ianto had betrayed everything because he couldn’t let go, besides cyber slaves were never that good as actors.

He suspected that the pain she had suffered in those months in Torchwood Three’s basement wasn’t just from the aborted conversion.  The Doctor was sure that the conversion process was still taking place, even while Ianto tried to prevent it.

Jack was right about one things, once Cyber-Conversion had begun there was no way to reverse it.  From what the Doctor had been told, Lisa would have become more of a cyberman every minute she survived the battle, despite trying to hold on to her humanity.

The Torchwood team had taken the only course of action they could against the increasing threat she represented.  That was the only consolation for Ianto’s broken heart, which was why the Doctor kept silent.

Of course everything turned out alright for them in the end. 

The Doctor reined his thoughts in before the coital image of Jack and Ianto from this morning intruded into his mind.

Looking down the Time Lord realised that he had stopped flicking through the file.  He sighed to himself and looked down at the page.

The Doctor froze in shock.

While his conscious mind had wandered his subconscious had known the significance of the artefact whose details he was now looking at.

It wasn’t the Box of Oncreath, it was something much more frightening.  It was a mislabelled temporal stabilizer.

The Doctor opened the file and removed the page containing the details of the stabilizer’s disappearance.  It was one of the missing artefacts from the Torchwood Tower.

It continued to flick though the pages paying closer attention now.  He found the box in the second file but continued looking through the remaining four.

In the end he removed the details of two other artefacts that could be dangerous by themselves but with the stabilizer and a few other easily obtained things they could be used to create a Temporal Disruptor. 

The Doctor flicked through the files again, not noticing that neither Jack nor Ianto had returned.  The rest were mostly harmless but some could be easily adapted for a number of uses, including Temporal Disruptor components.

The Time Lord had nearly finished looking through the artefacts in the fifth volume for the second time when he spotted something familiar. 

Ianto was right, not all of the artefacts had been stolen by the puppet master, the Doctor had stolen that one.

He removed it from the volume and continued his second sweep.  The Time Lord began looking though a third time only this time he checked the disappearance information and removed eight items that he had taken or destroyed.

There were several items that seemed more familiar than others that he was sure he hadn’t taken so he removed them too.  It was only when he spread those five artefacts over the coffee table that he realised where he’d seen them.

He’d removed them, or their remains from the TARDIS when he’d restored her after she’d been turned into a paradox machine.

The thought that the Master could be Ianto’s puppet master made the Time Lord’s blood run cold.  He had to reassure himself that the evil renegade was dead and that he was the last of his kind before the Doctor felt a little warm seep back.

Looking at the descriptions again made him feel both relieved and concerned.

Only two of the items had been taken from the Torchwood Tower and two had disappeared before the Master became Harold Saxon.

The Master wasn’t the one behind the manoeuvring of mercenaries; he had just used their services to get what he wanted and yet not everything he needed.

He debated for a moment whether he should tell Jack and Ianto about the Master’s involvement.  The Doctor decided that it wasn’t an important enough a fact.

Instead he put the pile of components from the Paradox Machine in with the artefacts whose disappearance he’d been responsible for.

The other two still hadn’t returned with the tea and coffee.  After what he’d seen in the bedroom he knew better than to just walk in and ask what was keeping them.

Part of the Doctor considered just taking the pages, leaving a note and going.  Old ghosts had been stirred and he regretting bringing them into this morning’s happiness.

Ianto however must have guessed he was tempted to do just that.

That’s why he said they were in Canary Wharf and no more, the Welshman knew he wouldn’t be able to waltz away without knowing more facts.

There was nothing for him to do but wait for his friends to return.


	8. Chapter Eight

Jack felt no guilt about abandoning the Doctor with Ianto’s files and following his husband into the kitchen.

He came up behind the Welshman and stopped him in the middle of getting the coffee ready.  Ianto made no protest and as his hands were directed to let go of their contents and his body was pulled into Jack’s.

Jack kept his arms firmly around the man he loved and after a few seconds hands rested on his.  Ianto leaned back and sighed.

“Are you angry about my conspiracy room?” Ianto asked quietly.

“You never complain whenever Gwen calls me up asking for my help with some alien threat,” Jack replied.

“That’s different you go and save the world, she needs your help and experience,” Ianto protested.

“Just because you’re not dealing with horrible, slimy alien invaders doesn’t mean you’re not trying to save the world too. 

“Ianto after we married all I wanted was for you to live in blissful happiness for the rest of your life.  I know you only kept it from me so that I could keep that illusion,” Jack sighed unhappily.

“I am blissfully happy most of the time.  Unfortunately because of who we are, this is the price we have to pay for all that joy,” Ianto replied gently looking back at his husband.

Jack spun him around and kissed him.  It was returned with equal passion and for a few second they forgot all about the box and Canary Wharf.

“We have to stop or the Doctor will think we’re sex mad.” Ianto said breathlessly.

“For you I’m always sex mad,” Jack replied diving for the Welshman’s lips as he began to chuckle.

Ianto thrust his hips up until their groins met.  The movement was brief but enough to tell the Welshman that Jack was teasing, and tell the Immortal that if his husband continued he wouldn’t be teasing for much longer.

“Are you okay?” Jack asked gently as his husband stilled.

It had been a long time since he had seen Ianto in business mode.  Jack found it surprisingly sexy and yet he hated it too.  He really wished the real world would just leave them alone.

“I am Jack, I know you have to go with Gwen and the Doctor to get the box from the Torchwood Tower,” Ianto replied understanding.

Alarm bells rang in Jack’s head.

The Immortal hated the fact that he couldn’t let the Time Lord go into the Torchwood Tower alone, the memories for him of losing Rose would be painful.  That was the same reason Jack had no intention of letting Ianto anywhere near the place.

The Welshman’s acceptance of this situation was what rang the bells.  There was no jealousy or resentment; just understanding and that worried Jack.

“I’m coming back,” the Immortal promised, hating the insecurity that came with Ianto’s willingness to let him go.

Ianto took Jack’s left hand and for the second time that day kissed the Immortal’s wedding ring.

“You gave me a vow Jack Harkness-Jones, I know you’re coming back.  I don’t know how dangerous this box could possibly be, but a friend has to walk through the nightmare of bad memories and there is no way we’re going to let him do that alone.

“If I thought you’d let me I would go there with you,” Ianto told Jack looking him firmly in the eyes.

“Have I told you how much I love you lately?” Jack asked as warm affection flooded him.

To get the Welshman’s memory back he had to use a mind probe, had to know all the things that made Ianto Ianto in order to restore him.

Jack couldn’t marry Ianto without the Welshman knowing everything that made him Captain Jack Harkness.

It surprised him that Ianto accepted, understood and forgave him, that despite knowing everything he had done, Ianto still loved him.

They both knew each other better than anyone ever had or ever would.  Yet those moments when Ianto demonstrated that understanding still left Jack feeling surprised

“You mentioned it a few hours ago.  You’re getting very sentimental and sappy,” Ianto replied with a beaming, teasing smile.

“Must be love,” Jack informed him.

“My sentimental, sappy and fiercely protective heart agrees, must be love,” Ianto replied pushing into Jack to kiss him.

Both men would have happily made love there in the kitchen but both were aware of the Doctor waiting for them.  Instead they held each other close, kissing every now and then.

Jack was really enjoying just being close to Ianto.  He loved the feel, smell and little noises his husband made, their joy bringing was as potent as they day they married.

Neither man knew when their next chance to be intimate would be.

“I really should make those drinks,” Ianto said reluctantly.

“Just a little longer,” Jack replied changing his grip slightly in an attempt to get closer.

“If you had your way a little longer would last until Tuesday and that wouldn’t really be fair on the Doctor,” the Welshman pointed out sadly.

“Do you have to be so reasonable?” Jack pouted letting his husband slip out of his grasp.

Ianto didn’t answer he just pressed a soft kiss to the Immortal’s lips then turned back to the coffee maker.  It took all of Jack’s self control not to press his body against the man he loved.

He had never really thought of himself as a clingy limpet but travelling in the TARDIS might mean it could be years before he saw Ianto again. 

What frightened him more was the thought that it could be years before Ianto saw him again.  The idea of losing any time with his mortal husband was heartbreaking.

When Ianto placed the drinks finally on the tray Jack pulled him back and turned him around.  He gave the Welshman one last passionate kiss.

The Immortal moved away, leaving his husband stunned and breathless.  Jack then went around him, grabbed the tray of coffees and headed for the door to face the Time Lord.


	9. Chapter Nine

The Doctor paused in his task of rearranging Jack and Ianto’s books in the chronological order that _he’d_ owned them at the sound of footsteps from the kitchen.

With guilty haste he put down the books he was holding and dashed back to his place by the sofa.  He got there just as the door opened.

“About time I thought I’d die of thirst,” the Time Lord said without menace.

Jack put the tray down heavily and the hot drinks slopped out of the mugs onto the tray.  A prolonged closing on his eyes was the only wince Ianto permitted himself.

From out of his pocket the Welshman produced some kitchen towel.  He wiped each mug before handing the Doctor’s tea and Jack’s coffee out.

He put his own mug on a coaster and then took the wet tray back out into the kitchen.

“You were right they weren’t responsible for _all_ the artefacts disappearances.  I had a hand in these,” the Time Lord said to the Welshman as he re-entered.

Ianto took the pile the Doctor indicated and flicked though them before putting them to one side.  While he did, the Time Lord spread the four remaining pages on the coffee table.

“These however are more problematic.  This is the Box of Oncreath and the other three are all dangerous in themselves but if put together could create a temporal disruptor,” the Doctor announced ominously.

Ianto crossed in front of him but the Doctor didn’t miss the shudder that ran though Jack.  The Welshman sat down and took his husband’s hand.

Jack withdrew the hand only to put his arm around Ianto and pull him into him.  They now sat like two lovers talking to a friend not two ex-Torchwood Agents discussing dangerous alien tech with an expert.

The Time Lord guessed that Jack had had a bad experience with a temporal disruptor.  He wanted to ask but Ianto’s eyes warned him not to.

The Doctor turned away and looked at the photos.  One of them was of a Temporal Focuser, it was the proof he needed that the Master wasn’t the one Ianto was investigating.

With the Temporal Focuser the Master would have been able to undo the time lock that kept him only able to travel between Martha’s time and the end of the universe.

“I don’t know whether it was incompetence or if it was deliberate but these three artefact and what they can do were seriously mislabelled.  That means that whoever ordered them to be stolen knew not only that they were in Canary Wharf but also their true function.

“Looking at the other things on their Torchwood Tower shopping list they were definitely interested in disrupting time.  The only thing I can think of to stop them is that they don’t have a power source.

“So why do you believe they are back in Canary Wharf?” the Doctor asked.

Jack gave his husband’s side an encouraging squeeze while he composed his thoughts.  The Time Lord guessed that his knowledge dated back from his time at Torchwood One.

“The building of the Torchwood Tower was delayed for several years.  As far as the public are concerned they delay was caused by financial difficulties,” Ianto began.

“But Torchwood One had pots of money.” Jack said earning him a raised eyebrow of reproof.

The Immortal smiled as though he hadn’t just been silently scolded for interrupting, and nodded for his husband to continue.

“The official reason given to most of the Torchwood Staff was difficulties in transferring the Mainframe, which was identical to the one in the Hub, from where it had been to its new location.”

“And you don’t believe that,” the Doctor said earning himself a raised eyebrow of reproof, at least he did the decent thing and looked guilty and apologetic for interrupting.

“In the hundred years since Torchwood was founded they had made a number of technological advances thanks to their studies.  The delay was caused by some of these advantages being build into the Tower’s infrastructure.

“Rumour was the Tower contained a generator that produced the same energy as five nuclear power plants running at maximum capacity that was the size of a broom closet.

“Management didn’t mind that rumour because it explained away their power consumption, you can’t run a particle beam off of mains electricity,” Ianto pointed out.

“Wrong voltage,” the Time Lord agreed.

“After the battle of Canary Wharf, the Tower was decommissioned by UNIT.  It’s a famous landmark so they couldn’t just destroy it.”

“Or people would notice?  They had cybermen in their homes,” the Time Lord despaired humanities capacity to keep the blinkers on.

“Doctor, London is quite used to terrorist threats.  I think it was felt that destroying Canary Wharf would have been seen giving in.  So they decided to rebuild and carry on as usual.  Only nothing,” Ianto paused to glace at his audience for dramatic effect.

“Torchwood’s section of the Tower was prime real estate in the middle of the business district yet no one wanted it.  There were many companies, most of them with global power, interested but the deal always fell through, even when the price was cut.”

“Someone was scaring them away,” the Doctor said darkly.

“Three months before our arrest, Torchwood London’s premises were finally bought by a company called ‘Firebrand United’.

“They’re a Personnel Recruitment Agency for specialised clients, no minimum wage temps they supply government advisers and scientists to cover sick and maternity leave.

“I think half the Agencies on the planet who deal with aliens investigated them.  They all seemed perfectly legal and above board.

“They hadn’t moved in before our arrest so I double checked after our honeymoon and they still seemed like a legitimate business.  Nothing suspicious or unusual happening around the Tower now that they’ve moved in,” Ianto told them.

The Welshman moved out of his husband’s embrace long enough to reach for his coffee and take a sip.  Then Ianto returned the mug to the table and himself to Jack’s arms.

“You believe they were laying low so that they didn’t arouse suspicions.  If they knew they would be watched why go back?   What changed you mind about them being legit?” the Doctor asked.

“My wonderful, sexy, overprotective husband wouldn’t let me go back to the Hub, poor Marcus has had to come here to get lessons on using the archiving system,” Ianto said smiling happily at his husband.

“After the battle of Canary Wharf, the Torchwood One Mainframe came to Cardiff.  We retrieved as much data as we could and Tosh wiped it clean.

“When we where arrested a UNIT/Government Taskforce raided the Hub looking for evidence against us.  Amongst the stuff they took with them was the Torchwood One Mainframe.”

“That wasn’t on the list of stuff Gwen said they took,” Jack interrupted, though this time he wasn’t given a raised eyebrow.

“No it wasn’t.  Marcus had quite a backlog trying to learn the archives without a guide.  It wasn’t until three months ago that he realised something wasn’t right and discovered the Torchwood One Mainframe in the Archives was a fake.  The raid was the only time the Hub had been vulnerable since I last saw it, so I concluded that’s when it happened,” Ianto replied.

“What about the UNIT team Colonel Mace lent us?” Jack asked.

“I vetted them all personally afterwards, they are loyal to the Colonel and UNIT’s true ideals.  I’ve also vetted everyone Gwen hired and they’re clean too.  No the raid was the only opportunity,” the Welshman explained to Jack.  He then turned his blue eyes to look seriously at the Doctor.

“Outside of the Torchwood Tower, that Mainframe is just so much scrap metal.  I don’t know if they had backups in the infrastructure of the building itself, I certainly don’t know yet the full extent of the technology hidden within the building, but the only reason to take the mainframe is to put it back.

“As soon as Marcus told me I investigated Firebrand again.  On the surface it seemed the same but none of the links to contact them on work, the phone number they had had changed and the new number quoted was disconnected,” Ianto said urgently.

“They don’t feel the need to keep up the front anymore,” the Time Lord nodded.

“I contacted Gwen and Colonel Mace and they have been investigating as subtly as they can.  Mace found a worrying concern with the team overseeing the reconstruction of Canary Wharf.

“There is only minimal mention of any alien tech in any of the reports.  Most of it was to do with security systems which were supposedly removed, but the investigation found that what’s in the Black Archives is also fake,” Ianto announced darkly.

The Doctor felt a worrying gnaw in his stomach.  The evidence that he would have to go back to the Torchwood Tower was mounting.

“All of the solders on supervising detail, while possessing full military training, were very new to UNIT.  None of them had any experience with construction.

“The Surveyor was discovered to have an offshore account during his time working on the Tower but he didn’t get to enjoy it because he died four months after he finished and the money disappeared.”

“Was there anything suspicious about his death?” the Doctor asked knowing the answer was probably yes.

Ianto’s eyes looked at him in sympathy.  The Welshman knew how badly he didn’t want to go. 

The only difference between his and Ianto’s fears, was the Doctor didn’t have the protective Jack Harkness-Jones stopping him from going in.  He was however going to have the Immortal by his side as he went in.

“The coroner did a thorough investigation, I think he was suspicious but couldn’t prove anything so he ruled it as accidental.”

“Surely there was some sort of scientist overseeing everything, someone with knowledge of alien technology?” Jack asked.

The Immortal looked sharply at his husband and the Time Lord saw the Welshman had stiffened.  His eyes became sad and full of sympathy.

“Colonel Mace put him at the top of the suspect list and began to investigate him first.  They looked into his background and found nothing so they kept a tail on him.

“The Scientist’s activities raised a lot of red flags and last week Mace sent a team to his house to conduct a search.  They found him dead in the freezer.  His brains were gone and his flesh looked like it had been partially eaten and then bits were hacked off later.

“Preliminary examination suggests he’d been dead for nearly three years.  They also found alien hairs and some unusual vegetarian cuisine in the fridge,” Ianto told them.

“Tormax shape shifter,” the Doctor said with a shudder then explained.

“Tormax shape shifters eat their victim’s brains to gain their knowledge and then consume their flesh to take their shape.  They’re vegetarians by necessity because its animal DNA that determined their shape any meat would corrupt their form.”

“They managed to capture and contain it.  Based on the fact that there have been no reprisals so far we don’t think Firebrand know, or they don’t care anymore.

“Either way, our next move is to go to the Hub and see Gwen.”

 

 


	10. Chapter Ten

“Martha Jones, the voice of a nightingale, what are you doing here I heard you were freelance?” Jack said as they entered the Hub.

“It’s Martha Smith remember and I’m helping Gwen out because a friend persuaded Mickey to do a little mission for him.  I haven’t seen him in months,” she replied looking pointedly at Ianto.

Jack hadn’t been happy about letting Ianto back into the Hub, despite his husband’s reassurances that he had no intention of going back to Torchwood.

The look Martha was giving him was making him regret letting the Welshman come along for an entirely different reason.

Martha’s marriage to Tom Milligan only lasted a few months.  Both parties acknowledged that they had spent too much time apart and went through with it for the wrong reasons.

She confessed that she’d been having an affair and he confessed he’d met and fallen for someone else.  The divorce was agreed upon and settled quite amicably.

The ink was barely dry on the divorce papers when it became wet for the marriage certificate between Martha and Mickey Smith.  None of their friend said anything only wished them joy.

The last Jack had heard of Tom Milligan, he too married his new love who was so pregnant he’d obviously waited no time pining over the loss of Martha.

“I know, I’m sorry.  I did promise that for however long you were apart you could spend a month longer on a beautiful tropical island so exclusive you won’t have to wear clothes,” Ianto replied with apologetic suggestiveness.

Jack was wondering how big a favour Mickey was doing that Ianto promised the use of their private island paradise.

“I’m going to hold you to that, but remember what we agreed,” she said looking at him hard.

“I remember, one month immediately after he finishes doing the favour and the rest in instalments.”

“And?”

“And I guarantee that any sex toys you find will be new and left for your use,” Ianto added with a smile that suggested that this wasn’t quite what had been agreed.

Martha nodded them smiled beautifully as though to say she was half teasing.  She then embraced the Welshman, the Doctor and finally Jack.

“And what about me?  Do I get a hello or have I become so much chopped liver?” Gwen asked appearing next to Martha.

“Sorry,” Ianto apologised before the Welshwoman embraced him.

“Hello Gwen,” Jack said as she grabbed him into a hug.  

Once the hug was over Jack then grabbed Ianto and kissed him possessively.  Both women looked at each other and silently agreed that it was an act of jealous overkill.

Gwen only got a moment to convey this to Martha before the Doctor embraced her in a hug.

“Sorry I thought that was the proper greeting,” he explained to her bemused look and the others laughter.

“Wonderful as it is to see you all,” Gwen began throwing the Doctor a dubious look.

“But why are you here,” her gaze was directed to Ianto.

“We need to do a conference call with Major Brandan and collect a few things, something’s come up,” Ianto replied.

Gwen nodded and allowed the Welshman to lead the way.  He looked around the Hub that he hadn’t seen in over a year.

“You’re cleaned up and redecorated,” Ianto commented offering Gwen his arm.

“It was getting awfully dank and the atmosphere wasn’t the same.   I decided I needed to change it or it would drive me crazy,” Gwen replied accepting the arm and the Welshman gave her a nod of understanding.

There has always been something rather ‘Jack’ about the Hub, probably because he lived there and refused to change anything.

He could understand why Gwen would feel the need to change things.

She had effectively lost everyone connected to the Torchwood she joined, now she was the boss she had to make the Hub more her.

“You’ve kept the dragon,” Ianto said after his eyes sought out the mural on the upper lever.

“Of course,” she replied proudly.

Jack walked behind them as Gwen pointed out the various changes that had been made to the Hub.  Behind him he could hear Martha and the Doctor catching up.

Watching Gwen and Ianto he felt glad to see them getting on so well. 

The Welshwoman had not been happy when he told her that neither he, nor Ianto, would be coming back to Torchwood.  In the end though Gwen had understood and wished them joy.

Of course the fact that he occasionally made himself available for her to consult helped.  Now it seemed that Ianto had kept more in touch with her than he thought.

Jack wondered if he had been wrong to keep Ianto from returning to Torchwood.  It wasn’t as though he gave the young man much say, he just made the decision and the Welshman accepted it.

 _No he didn’t, he just went behind my back_ , Jack thought sadly.

_Is the happiness I’ve been feeling for this past year now coming to an end?  Now that we’re back inside the Hub will he want to return?_

Jack knew how exciting working for Torchwood could be; the only things better was travelling with the Doctor or being married to Ianto Jones.

Ianto never said anything the first time Gwen had called him and asked for his help.  He just helped him on with his greatcoat, gave him a passionate kiss and promised to be waiting when he returned.

Boy what a homecoming.  He got back to find Ianto naked and open for him on the lounge carpet with a silk rose clenched between his teeth.

He’d been so turned on, needed Ianto so badly he didn’t even bother to get naked until afterwards.  Then he’d held the Welshman and told him what had happened.

The second time they made love it was with such slow and tender passion, he’d trailed the rose over the Welshman’s skin to tease him.

He kept the rose afterwards and used it several times while painting nudes of his husband.  When he wasn’t using it as a prop he kept it as one of the keepsakes in his private room.

Jack looked around the Hub and realised for the first time that that it would never feel as comfortable and safe here as it had when he was in charge; it could no longer be his home.

Not just because Gwen was now the boss and had remodelled, but because it felt a little like a rival. 

The kiss earlier it wasn’t warning the women off of his man so much as reminding his man who he belonged to, that being in his Hub couldn’t be permanent.

Yet it wasn’t really his decision to make.  It was really Ianto’s choice.

At the board room Ianto headed straight for the coffee maker while Gwen contacted the rest of her team and Major Brandan.  A look from the Welshman summoned Jack over.

“You know one of the disadvantages of being as aware as I am is that you tend to feel disappointed when you walk in front of you husband and know he isn’t checking out your arse,” Ianto said conversationally.

“I wasn’t checking out Gwen’s arse,” Jack said quickly.

“No, you were worrying.  You were thinking that, now I’m back in the Hub, I will find the allure of Torchwood as irresistible as you do,” Ianto said as he made coffee.

Jack hung his head.  There had been no getting anything past Ianto before he became more psychically aware, now it was impossible.

“I’ve never regretted choosing you Jack.  If you had wanted us to stay in Torchwood I would have done, I know you need to feel that you are helping to save people which is why you keep going back.

“I stopped feeling I could only keep you by staying in Torchwood the moment you said ‘I do’.  I am happy knowing I’m the one you come home to,” Ianto said softly and Jack looked into his eyes to see the truth there.

“I don’t still watch the world because I enjoy it; I watch the world because I have to, for you.  When we’ve helped the Doctor I won’t be coming back here again unless the fate of the world is at stake and you need me,” Ianto promised.

“Can we go away together when this is over?  I know we weren’t going to...” Jack began.

“I would love to,” the Welshman interrupted smiling.

“I’m sorry I don’t know why I’ve been getting so anxious,” Jack apologised.

“I do, I just wish that you’d remember that I love you no matter what,” Ianto told him as he picked up the tray and headed for the conference room table


	11. Chapter Eleven

The Doctor’s eyes were drawn to the movement as Ianto walked away from Jack.  The Immortal looked stunned for a second before his face lit up with a brilliant smile.

As Jack followed Ianto towards the table and his eyes immediately drifted down.  The Welshman couldn’t possibly have seen but the Time Lord was sure that was the reason for the small smile.

As Ianto neared the table he looked back to Jack and then across to the seat next to the Doctor.  The Immortal immediately stopped following him and sat down next to the Time Lord.

The Doctor looked at his friend for a minute.   He never thought he would see the wild Jack Harkness tamed, but the Immortals eyes were still following his husband and he had a glazed, adoring expression on his face.

“Thank you Ianto,” Gwen said as she took the coffee and inhaled the aroma with her eyes closed in remembrance.

All but one of her team looked amused, especially as Martha, Jack and the other member of Torchwood has similar reactions.  Of course when they tasted the coffee they understood instantly.

“I guess that introductions are in order,” Gwen said as Ianto sat down.

“You all know Jack and the god of coffee is his husband, Ianto, whom I’m sure you all know about.  The gentleman they brought with them is the Doctor,” Gwen began.

The Time Lord felt all eyes swivel to him and the man who knew the taste of Ianto’s coffee and the woman on the conference room screen both stood and saluted.

“Please don’t do that,” he said feeling embarrassed and waving them to sit down.

The Torchwood man blushed slightly under the very amused stares of his colleagues as he sat.  His eyes looked to Ianto, the Welshman did not look amused, he nodded understanding and the young man looked relieved.

“Soldier boy is Corporal Marcus Davenport, our Archivist and Housekeeper, I poached him from UNIT,” Gwen said unashamedly.

“He was only supposed to be a temporary loan,” the female major admonished.

“Major Brandon ma’am you should see their archives,” the young archivist enthused.

“Over a hundred years of alien stuff without accurate records or a decent filing system,” Ianto said wistfully then winked at his husband.

“The other three members of my team are Doctor Jane Lomax our medic,” Gwen said indicating the only other woman. 

Jane had brown hair and eyes set in a round face that would always look young.  She smiled politely at him but he could tell she was trying to analyse him so he grinned disarmingly back at her.

“Sam Llewellyn is our technical genius, UNIT tried to poach him from us,” Gwen added teasingly as she indicated a slightly older man with dark hair, blue eyes and Welsh cheekbones.

Major Brandon on the screen said nothing.

“And Chris Sanders our linguistics and cultural expert,” Gwen said nodding to the young man with blond hair and green eyes.

“Linguistics and culture?” the Doctor asked sounding impressed.

“Dealing with alien races can’t always mean killing off potential invaders.  We have to be ambassadors too and understanding is always the first step,” Chris replied.

“Don’t look at me, he just turned up at the Tourist Office nine months ago and told Marcus he’d come to start his new job at Torchwood.  Given the recommendation letter he was carrying with him I thought it was worth giving a three month trial and decided to keep him,” Gwen informed them looking at Ianto who was obviously responsible for the whole thing.

“Interesting as all this is I don’t really have all day so how about I tell you all that I’m Major Stephanie Brandan of UNIT and have you tell me why you called,” the woman on the screen announced impatiently.

“The Doctor came to see me this morning to ask for help locating an artefact that he witnessed falling though the Rift.  I identified it as one of those taken from the Torchwood Tower after the battle. 

“When looking though my catalogue of missing artefacts he noticed three others which when put together could create a devastating weapon,” Ianto told them.

The Doctor forced himself not to raise an eyebrow at the half-truth the Welshman had just told.  He didn’t correct it partly because a Time Distorter could be used as a weapon but mostly because the deadliest thing about Time Distorters is the temptation to use them as Temporal Manipulators.

“I take it we don’t want this weapon falling into the wrong hands,” Brandan stated.

“Worse than that Major if something goes wrong during the construction process then it could cause a global disaster,” the Time Lord informed her darkly.

She looked away sagging a little.  The Doctor knew that whatever she was going to say next wasn’t good.

“I wish you’d come a few days ago.  I take it this meeting is for you to get the latest intelligence on Firebrand before you take your TARDIS and go in.

“Well yesterday one of our operatives was sent in to do some reconnaissance and he hasn’t returned,” the Major informed them.

“I told you not to do that without letting me know first,” Ianto said his voice cold with contained anger.

“I know and I respect your knowledge and threat assessment Mr. Harkness-Jones, but my superiors do not.  They gave me an ultimatum and because of it I may have lost a good man,” she returned apologetically.

“I hope your man is still alive in there, I know the Doctor and Jack will look out for him.  I wanted you to let me know in case there was anything I could do to help,” Ianto told Brandan, his voice and eyes gentle with sympathy.

“I appreciate that Mr. Harkness-Jones.  There is one good thing to come out of this.  I made my man....”

“What is his name?” the Doctor interrupted.

“Sergeant Timothy Eversleigh,” she replied with a small appreciative smile.

“I made him wear a sensor vest, I’m transmitting the readings we got before we lost contact,” Brandan continued nodding to someone off screen.

The computer in front of Sam beeped and he transferred the data to a screen so that they could all see it.  The Doctor stared at the readings, the whole building, not just the former Torchwood Tower was laced with security sensors.

There were also a number of readings that confirmed temporal experiments were taking place.  He wondered how no one had noticed, before realising how heavily shielded the building was.

“You have a thoughtful look on your face Mr. Harkness-Jones what is it?” Brandon asked.

“Your people are still watching the building right, what’s the activity like?”

“Everyone’s coming and going as normal.  Eversleigh is the only one not to have emerged.”

“And no one else new has shown up?”

“Just the usual scientist, admin and execs.  To be frank Mr. Harkness-Jones that’s one of the reasons my superiors pushed for Eversleigh’s mission to go ahead, they didn’t see any danger,” she replied bitterly.

“Apart from the unusual number of scientist working daily in a recruitment agency,” Ianto said to himself.  He had his eyes closed as though he was trying to remember something.

They all waited for him to open his eyes and say something.  From time to time one of them considered speaking but Jack glared them into staying silent.

“I think Sergeant Eversleigh is probably still alive.  None of the personnel profiles I remember suggest any strong homicidal tendencies,” Ianto began.

“They are more likely to want information out of him first,” Brandon commented darkly.

“And none of them have the stomach for it, your own analysts know that or your superiors might have paused,” Ianto stated and Brandan nodded.

“However they’re not above hiring someone to do their dirty work for them.  Keep a closer eye on the building Major, if they’re still being paranoid they will probably move Sergeant Eversleigh to another location to be tortured and killed, that will be your chance to grab him.

“If they’re not paranoid anymore, apart from that being a worrying sign that they’re close to their goal, it means that they will be bringing someone in to do the job,” Ianto concluded.

“Either way I’ll get my people checking their sources, see if any mercenaries who specialise in torture have been hired,” Brandan stated nodding again to someone off camera.

“If Sergeant Eversleigh’s still alive and in the Tower we’ll rescue him,” the Doctor promised and the UNIT Major nodded in acceptance.

“If you find out anything important, Martha has a number for the Doctor while he’s in flight and I have numbers for Jack and Gwen when they get there,” Ianto concluded with a note of finality.

“I look forward to hearing from you,” she replied and cut the connection.

“I’m going with them?” Gwen asked incredulously at the same moment that Martha said.

“I’m not staying behind what if someone needs medical attention.”

“The other reason we came here was to get some equipment to help sneak you past all that security, it isn’t a guarantee but it may give you an edge,” Ianto began ignoring Martha before turning to her.

“Unfortunately the equipment calibrations are very precise.  Tosh made them and they were attuned to each Torchwood team member,” he said gently.

“What about the Doctor?” she asked.

“There is only one blank template, I’m sure between Sam and the Doctor they can attune it to him.  I’m sorry Martha but we don’t have the time to make another one and we can’t adapt Tosh or Owen’s” Ianto said sadly.

The Welshman looked into her eyes until she acknowledged that she would stay.  The Doctor looked at Martha in sympathy; he would have preferred to have her along rather than Gwen.

“So where’s this equipment we’ve come for?” the Doctor asked more eager to be on their way now that they also had a man to rescue.


	12. Chapter Twelve

Two hours later Jack, Gwen and the Doctor were back at the Immortal’s house.

The Time Lord recognised the devices now pinned to their coats was a more advanced version of the Electronic Perception Filter Ianto had once given him to help him sneak around the Hub without showing up on any of the security cameras.

Just after he lost Astrid, the Doctor had ended up in Cardiff a few days after Jack had disappeared with him.  Harold Saxon was still campaigning to become Prime Minister and the TARDIS refused to let him leave despite the potential paradox he was causing.

Ianto Jones was the reason he had had to stay.

The Welshman then had been on the verge of creating a temporal paradox himself, as he had to decide whether or not he wanted to stay at Torchwood with Jack gone.

The Time Lord had to stay with him through his emotional turmoil until he was sure Ianto was ready play the part in history, with Torchwood, that he was supposed to.

The Electronic Perception Filter and his adapted TARDIS key meant that only Ianto knew he was there at first.  Circumstance however had forced the Doctor to reveal himself and the role Ianto was to play in the year that never was to Toshiko Sato as well.

Afterwards she had obviously decided to tinker with Ianto’s Electronic Perception Filters and made them much more sophisticated.  Unfortunately Tosh had died before they could be fully tested and the Doctor made the final few adjustments required to perfect them.

“Wait a minute I’ve got to go to the bathroom,” Jack said interrupting the Time Lord’s thoughts and swiftly turning away from the TARDIS.

“I’ll just show Gwen inside while we wait,” he called after the Immortal, but Jack was gone.

He looked at the Welshwoman and she shrugged, Jack disappearing to go to the loo before a mission seemed odd her too.

“Would you like to look inside?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said her voice holding barely contained excitement.

He grinned at her and unlocked the door.  The Doctor let Gwen enter first then moved around her to look at the wonder and awe on her face.

“It really is bigger on the inside,” she said quietly.

“Yes she is,” the Time Lord replied and Gwen looked at him.

“You must hear that all the time,” the Welshwoman stated looking away from him but unable to stop looking around the console room.

“I do but it never gets old,” he replied and grinned as she looked questioningly at him.

“Well you work in Bat Cave you know how it is, after a while I’m sure you took the wonders of the Hub for granted.  When it takes someone new aback, it reminds you of how special she is,” as he said the last part the Doctor stroked the console as though apologising to the TARDIS for doing just that to her.

“You didn’t seem surprised when you saw the Hub,” Gwen said calmly.

“Well I’ve seen it before,” he replied.

“When?” she demanded

“Can’t say, sorry I was incognito at the time,” the Doctor replied hastily.

He didn’t want to tell her that while Jack was gone he’d been there following Ianto around.  The Doctor had seen how badly Gwen had taken the Captain’s absence and how she treated the Welshman.

Ianto and Gwen had obviously become great friends since then and he didn’t want to hurt her feelings by bringing up what had been forgiven.

However...

“Jack didn’t know about Ianto’s researches but you did.  Why didn’t you tell him?” the Doctor asked quietly.

“Please if I’d said anything Ianto would have shot me,” she replied blasé.

“He wouldn’t have done that, would he?”

“Oh he wouldn’t have killed me but it would have hurt,” Gwen looked at him thoughtfully for a few moments before explaining.

“When Owen and Tosh died, Jack and I really couldn’t cope.  I wanted to leave but Jack gave me the strength to stay, and Ianto gave Jack the strength to go on.

“Ianto suppressed his feelings, put them aside to look after us, make sure we were alright and that Torchwood ran smoothly until he collapsed from exhaustion.  I knew then that Jack and I were more likely to be the death of Ianto than Torchwood,” she paused and walked further onto the room.

“I don’t think Jack realised he was in love with Ianto until I told him that Ianto’s memory had been erased, that he no longer knew who we, or Torchwood, were and was living a different life.

“He kept away because they threatened Ianto’s life but when it was threatened again Jack had a choice, Torchwood or Ianto and he chose the man he loved,” she said with a smile and the Doctor smiled back agreeing it was the right choice.

“After we rescued Ianto and Jack decided to leave, he had this idea of living in paradise with Ianto.  Beauty, peace and no hostile aliens were what he wanted for the rest of Ianto’s life.

“You know the only reason I ask Jack to help me still is because Ianto told me to.  Being Captain Jack, the Torchwood hero, it’s part of the man Ianto fell in love with, saving the world is part of what makes Jack happy,” she confessed quietly.

“But not Ianto,” the Doctor said.

“No.  Ianto is only ever the action hero through necessity, there is no fun in it for him.  Jack knows that, it is why he wanted to sacrifice being at Torchwood, to keep him away.

“Ianto keeps himself occupied with various activities, his charity work and he does help with the Archive records.  Jack does know about that but doesn’t mind because Ianto doesn’t come near us.

“Those researches are not fun for Ianto, he does them to keep his paradise.  He didn’t want Jack to know that paradise isn’t as perfect as Jack hoped,” Gwen said sadly.

“But surely the deception has hurt Jack?”

“He loves me Doctor, that’s never wavered.  Gwen’s right, the fact that he has to sacrifice part of himself to be happy with me hurts, but it isn’t something I demanded.

“I know he keeps secrets to keep me and the world safe, as long as he loves me I don’t think that matters do you?” Jack asked defensively.

Both of them had jumped as neither of them had noticed the Immortal enter. 

Looking at Jack, he didn’t quite seem to be the same man who went to the bathroom.  There seemed to be a wall around that hadn’t been there before. They both guessed that he didn’t like the fact that they had talked about him and Ianto behind his back.

“Shall we get going then?” Jack asked coldly.

The Doctor felt a stab of pain at Jack’s words and knew that their discussion really must have hurt him.  His friend knew he was in no hurry to return to Canary Wharf.

“Right yes, let’s get going, no reason to wait,” he said bitterly.

The Time Lord regretted those words instantly as he knew Jack had only hurried them because he had been provoked.

Yet as the Doctor looked at his friend, he saw that his words had not registered.

Jack was just standing there, staring into space, his face a mask apart from his eyes, eyes that were deep pools of unhappiness.

As the Doctor set the TARDIS in motion he once more wished he hadn’t needed their help.

 


	13. Chapter Thirteen

“Grab your things our ride’s nearly here,” Ianto said startling Martha out of her contemplation of some test results she’d read six times in the last half hour.

“What?” she asked confused.

“Our helicopter’s nearly here to take us to Major Brandan’s HQ,” the Welshman replied.

Martha just stared at him. 

He was dressed in a smart, dark suit with a white shirt and red tie.  Ianto didn't wear suits often these days, only when he had a committee meeting or wanted to provoke Jack.

The fact that he was wearing one right now meant that he was all business and Martha suddenly had the feeling she had been manipulated.

“You kept me from going deliberately didn’t you?  The Doctor could have easily knocked up one of those devices couldn’t he?  I can’t believe you did that just so that you could use my old UNIT credential to get in; and don’t you dare give me any crap about promising to keep me safe for Mickey,” Martha hissed angrily.

“You’re right the Doctor probably could have made you one of those filters but I didn't keep you away for Mickey, I kept you away for the Doctor,” Ianto replied looking into her eyes.

She hadn’t expected that answer but before she could recover from the shock to ask what he meant he whispered.

“You do look a lot like your cousin.”

“Adeola,” Martha breathed.

All the talk of Canary Wharf and the Torchwood tower had provoked memories of her lost cousin. 

Martha had thought Adeola died in a terrorist attack but the Doctor eventually told her the truth.  By then she knew the dangers of his world, knew he would have done everything he could for her cousin, but the Time Lord had been too late.

“The Doctor is about to go into Canary Wharf, a place where he lost Rose Tyler, a place where he couldn’t save your cousin; I know he would probably love to have you at his side, but is that a good idea if something goes wrong?” Ianto said gently.

She knew what he meant.  If danger did arise the Doctor would be worrying more about her safety than what they had to do, she would be a distraction.

“Did you know her?” Martha asked.

“Yes I knew her,” the Welshman replied and Martha remembered Mickey telling her that Ianto had met almost everyone at Torchwood One at least once.

“She liked to seem serious and professional but she was fun loving underneath,” he added remembering.

“I’ll see you up top,” Ianto told her quietly and left her with fond memories of her cousin.

After a moment Martha shook herself and went to get her medical things.

God she really missed Mickey. 

It had been fun hanging around in Torchwood Cardiff, but all this talk about Canary Wharf reminded her that the man she loved was off on a mission.

After having drifted apart from Tom because of his months away, Martha hadn’t really happy with the idea of parting from Mickey.   If Ianto hadn’t told them that he thought the world might be at stake they never would have agreed.

She had wanted to go with him, but Ianto pointed out that as a former companion of the Doctor she would be too well known.

Mickey protested of course that he was also a companion of the Doctor, but Ianto pointed out that he had the advantage of being declared legally dead, there was no one as invisible as a dead man.

Martha has almost made a joke about Owen hardly being invisible but Ianto was wearing his serious face and she wasn’t sure how well it would be received.

Now she missed everything about Mickey; his face, his cheeky attitude, his optimism and being held but his firm, warm body. Martha knew her feelings for her second husband were deeper because she ached to be with him again in a way she hadn’t for her first.

Martha had needed something to occupy her.

When she’d shown up two months ago, Gwen seemed so glad to see her and was happy for her to stay, but there was an unspoken sympathy about her.

Martha knew the Welshwoman was thinking of the breakup of her marriage to Tom.  She almost demanded another two weeks in paradise from Ianto for having to put up with the sympathy.

As she entered the lift to take her up to the Tourist Office, Martha was glad that Gwen knew nothing about Rose Tyler.

What would the Welshwoman have said if she found out she’d left the Doctor because she didn’t want to be a lesser Rose substitute anymore, only to marry Rose’s ex-boyfriend years later?

Seeing Ianto as she went though the secret door made Martha smile; she knew that Rose would have been the last thing on Mickey’s mind when they truly started their affair at the Harkness-Jones Christmas party.

Ianto took her arm and lead her to where the helicopter was waiting.  Martha looked sideways at the Welshman as she began to wonder.

Her divorce from Tom had been more amicable than she expected.  Martha had only felt a small pang of hurt when he agreed because he’d fallen in love with someone else too.

 She knew then, that she’d never really loved Tom, not the way she felt for Mickey every time they were together, every moment they were apart. 

Her first husband had just been a rebound reaction to her acceptance that the Time Lord was beyond her reach.  Tom was intelligent and kind like the Doctor, but more steady and sensible.  She had no fear of him haring off on adventures, well not the sort that you had travelling in the TARDIS.

Martha climbed aboard the Helicopter after Ianto and began to strap herself in.

If anyone was going to figure out that she and Mickey were having an affair it would have been Ianto.  The Welshman would not have made any judgement on them beyond determining how happy the two of them were.

 _The three of them_ , she corrected herself.  Tom’s happiness would have been considered more carefully by Ianto than it had been by her.

_Had Tom fallen in love with someone else because Ianto had put her in his way?_

Before Martha made the mistake of asking, the helicopter took off.

She looked at Ianto with his eyes closed.  Martha could only tell that the look in the Welshman’s face wasn’t serenity, but an attempt to fight off nausea because she knew him as well as she did.

In her hesitation Martha realised that she didn’t want to know.

Ianto wasn’t responsible for her affair with Mickey, he may have put women in Tom’s way when he found out, but he couldn’t be held responsible if Tom then fell in love with one of them.

Martha knew that the Welshman had lost much, suffered much in his life before Jack made an honest man of him.  She knew that if he had manipulated the situation, it was to prevent pain and promote happiness amongst his friends.

“Why are we heading for Major Brandan’s HQ?” she asked using the private channel on the headset wanting to distract both of them.

“If the Doctor asks, you need to tell him that we didn’t want second hand information and that we thought Brandan would be more co-operative if she believed he would follow your mobile signal and bring Sergeant Eversleigh directly to her,” Ianto explained.

“And their medical facilities are as good as Torchwood’s,” she added before saying.

“So why are we really going?”

“A couple of years ago Jack got kidnapped by Time Agents.  I knew you were incommunicado at the time but I found a way of attracting the Doctor’s attention. 

“He turned up, we went to the Time Agency and we rescued Jack,” there was a worrying lightness in his tone that let Martha know that whatever had happened to her friend wasn’t good.

“They had used a Temporal Disruptor to torture him.  It interfered with whatever is inside him that makes him Immortal.  He still couldn’t die, but it stopped his super-fast healing process.

“It left him blind and crippled by pain and it took three months for him to recover,” the Welshman’s voice was sad with remembrance.

“There’s nothing about that in Jack’s medical record,” Martha stated with concern.

“That’s because we never told the others.  You see it wasn’t your Doctor that helped me rescue Jack, it was a successor. 

“Between the potential paradoxes and Jack not being able to go near the Rift, the other Doctor left us in Bath in the past.  Jack got better and we returned to Cardiff the same day we left,” Ianto paused a smile spreading on his face.

Whatever had happened in Bath, or the day they came back, it obviously wasn’t all bad.  Martha was glad about that; she knew from her mother that Jack had suffered too much pain because of his Immortality and hoped he never had to again.

“Some of the things he said, some of the precautions he took, I knew I would meet your Doctor again but we can’t let him know,” Ianto said firmly.

“I understand.  Now I know why you made sure Gwen went along too.  With all this talk of Temporal Disruptors Jack’s just as likely to freak out as the Doctor,” Martha stated.

“Yeah Gwen will keep them in line and get them both through this,” Ianto said trying to reassure himself.

“She will,” Martha reassured firmly as she took his hand and rested her head on his shoulder.  After a minute he rested his head on hers.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I mentioned at the End of Christmas in Cardiff. When I originally wrote that story I hadn't seen End of Time and assumed that the husband Martha was on honeymoon with was Tom Milligan. By the time I wrote this story however, I had seen End of Time and knew she was married to Mickey Smith. Which is why I decided to make Mickey, Martha's second husband.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Major Brandan was there to meet them when the helicopter landed.  She saluted before smiling politely at them.

“I thought we would be seeing you soon Mr Harkness-Jones, Doctor Smith.  I was going to give you a briefing of what we’ve been doing over the past few months but the profiler wants to see you urgently,” she said briskly turning away.

“Profiler?  I thought UNIT only had a couple of psychiatrists and councillors,” Martha whispered.

“After Jack and I were rescued by a joint UNIT/Judoon taskforce, the powers that be decided that they were too military in their thinking.  They may not approve of Torchwood or freelancers like you and Mickey but we get the job done.

“No sooner did I organise a cultural and linguistics expert for Gwen but UNIT had to have several and some xenopsychologists as well,” Ianto answered with a small, smug smile on his face.

Martha smiled too; Ianto had a right to be proud for trying to change UNIT.  She had had more freedoms as a doctor and scientist but they still proved too military for her after the Osterhagen incident; though it wasn’t until she got to know Mickey that she knew she had to leave them.

“The Artefact thefts are of great concern to UNIT.  Their profiler has been trying to figure out what sort of people are behind them.”

“Like you,” Martha pointed out.

“Yes, she’s doing invaluable work that helped me figure some of it out.  I only got to Firebrand quicker because I knew things about Canary Wharf that she didn’t.

“She’s been profiling the people who work there, that’s how I’m sure none of them will harm Sergeant Eversleigh themselves. 

“I think now however, she will have turned her attention to Firebrand’s chosen torturer and assassin,” Ianto explained.

Martha nodded and caught a glimpse of Major Brandan out of the corner of her eye.  The UNIT commander had been just as interested in what Ianto had to say as she was.

Brandan led them up several flights of stairs to a room with one wall of windows.  On the other three walls were pictures and information, similar to what was in Ianto’s private room, only the threads were led by people not artefacts.

In the middle hunched over a huge desk covered with a jumble of files was a woman.  She was in her very early twenties, practically straight out of University, with her blond hair tied up untidily out of her face.

“Hello Crystal,” Ianto called out obviously knowing the woman.

She started but when she saw who it was a huge smile beamed across her face.

“Uncle Ianto,” she enthused getting up from the desk and engulfing the Welshman in an overfriendly hug.

Martha had met Ianto’s family so knew that she wasn’t a true relation.  Judging by the slight blushing, ‘Uncle’ was a private joke that Crystal used to affectionately embarrass the Welshman.

 She pulled away and Ianto automatically straightened his suit.  Crystal grinned with childish victory at having slightly rumpled him.

“Doctor Martha Smith this is Crystal Haversham UNIT’s profiler,” Ianto introduced them formally.

“Oh I touched a little nerve,” Crystal said as she shook Martha’s hand. 

“My father worked at the Torchwood Tower when Ianto first joined.  He brought Uncle Ianto to our house once and well, I was a wilful teenager and it was lust at first sight for me, still is,” Crystal explained smirking as Ianto began to blush again.

“I’m a happily married man, with a jealous husband,” the Welshman said firmly and she pouted mockingly.

“I’m not sure my father really had much of a clue about me because he told me I had to be good around ‘Uncle Ianto’,” she rolled her eyes as the cluelessness of fathers, then she turned serious.

“He came to tell my family when my father died.  I would never had kept up my studies and gone to University if you hadn’t talked me into it,” she told the Welshman sincerely and he nodded.

“Enough about our past, I wanted to talk to you about this torturer/assassin though I wasn’t expecting you so soon I only told Brandan to get you ten minutes ago,” she said puzzled.

“We would have already been on our way, I figured we would be of much more use here,” Ianto explained and she nodded.

Martha judged that Crystal was familiar with Ianto’s all knowing way.  He had obviously been able to read her as a child and that ability influenced her career choice, Ianto wasn’t just a man she had wanted, he was a man she admired.

“When I was first put on this case I went through all the police reports on the deaths.  Now assassins always change their modus operandi to suit the circumstances but back then there was something about all of them that struck me.

“Our assassin is meticulous and Firebrand, if they are responsible, always use the same one.  There is something about the way he works that strikes me with all of these deaths,” Crystal said almost too herself.

She looked to Ianto, Martha and Brandan to see if they wanted her to elaborate.  Time however was of the essence right now and Crystal could see that identifying him was more important than her detailed analysis.

“I came to the same conclusion you did Uncle Ianto when I heard Mark was missing.  I’ve been looking at the cases of the most wanted torturers and assassins and I think I know who our guy is,” she said handing a file over to Ianto.

Martha wanted to ask her more about the assassin she believed was employed by Firebrand, like what his name was, but she knew her questions would not be answered. 

Crystal obviously valued Ianto’s opinion on things and wanted to know from him if she had judged right.

“This is not good,” the Welshman said quietly.

“So you think I’m right?” Crystal asked unable to keep the pupil’s delight from her voice.

“Yes I do.  Crystal believes our assassin/torturer is Joshua Timmons,” Ianto announced gravely.

Brandan swore and immediately left the room.  The others followed swiftly at her heals.

Martha knew who Timmons was, he was on UNIT’s most wanted humans board.  The crimes he had committed were horrific, mostly because he didn’t care how innocent or young his victims were.

If that’s who they were hiring then Eversleigh was in big trouble.

As they entered the command centre Major Brandan ordered one of her men to find where the intelligence services believed Timmons to be. 

There was too much evidence and Timmons to dangerous for any of the intelligence services to bother with a stakeout.  If anyone knew his exact location there were standing orders to go in mob handed and arrest or kill him.

“A body showed up yesterday in South Korea which the CIA believe Timmons is responsible for,” the corporal said minutes later.

Crystal and Ianto went to his computer and looked at the details.  After a bit of conferring they nodded to Brandan that it was Timmons handiwork.

“That means with luck he hasn’t arrived in the country yet.  Alpha strategy team, we need to find this guy and apprehend him ASAP, find out where he’ll enter the country. 

“Gordon, Estevez and Patel I want your teams in the area surrounding the Isle of Dogs, if we can’t catch this guy getting into the country I want to try and get him before he’s within a hundred yards of Canary Wharf,” Brandan ordered.

“You’d better phone the Doctor and warn him, Jack will be able to brief him on Timmons,” Ianto said quietly to her.

Martha nodded and reached for the phone.  With that monster on the way they needed all the advantage they could get.

She dialled the number but couldn’t get a connection.  She dialled four times then looked at Ianto in horror, they couldn’t warn their friends about what they could be facing.

 

 


	15. Chapter Fifteen

The Doctor saw Jack shake himself out of his unhappy thoughts the second the TARDIS landed.  He had barely checked the sensors to make sure it was safe and that they were where they supposed to be before the Immortal opened the doors.

“Did Ianto tell you where to land?” Jack asked looking back at him.

“Yes why?”

“He’s a teasing minx sometimes,” the Immortal replied with a smile that didn’t quite meet his eyes and exited.

The Time Lord exchanged a baffled look with Gwen before both of them shrugged and followed their friend.

The Doctor’s confusion only increased when he found himself in a small room packed with stationary.  A quick scan with his sonic screwdriver confirmed that Ianto was correct, no sensors or alarms in this room.

“Oh my god, I did wonder,” Gwen said a bright red flush creeping over her cheeks.

“What?” he asked in confusion.

“They have a room in their house a bit bigger than this one full of stationary and office equipment, they even have a photocopier,” Gwen hissed.

“You’ve been in our stationary cupboard,” Jack accused, his voice loaded with jealousy, and the Time Lord realised that this is one conversation that was out of his depth.

“I needed a pen,” she shot back with a glare that told her friend that she had her own husband and a lack of stationary fetishes.

“Stop it you two,” the Doctor ordered moving between them to get to the door.

He opened it a crack to peer outside before opening it fully and stepping out.

“Your Ianto was right, brilliant him.  I suppose we should be grateful they’re not reconstructing Torchwood One,” he said conversationally as he walked into the deserted open plan office.

“Why is there no one here?” Gwen asked following him out.

“When Torchwood was here this floor was several offices all dedicated to administration.  That’s the stationary cupboard of Information Retrieval where Ianto first worked as a researcher.

“Ianto believes that Firebrand would use this floor as a front for their Recruitment Agency, now they’re no longer keeping up the front it isn’t being used,” The Doctor told her.

“Are we going for Sergeant Eversleigh or your artefacts first?” Gwen asked.

“Well I think that depends on Firebrand.  If they followed any of Torchwood One’s designs at all then both of them could be in one of two places.  We’re going to head to where we don’t want them to be and hope they’re not there, and then we improvise,” the Time Lord said ignoring the look of confusion on the other’s face and headed off.

“Just like old times,” Jack said quietly without enthusiasm before following.

Silently they crossed the empty office, all three of them feeling more conspicuous than if the place had been full.  When they got to the door to the stairs the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to check that it wasn’t alarmed.

They entered and the Doctor began to head up while Jack was going to head down.  The Immortal about faced quickly when he realised and went after him.

“I thought the archives and cells were below us,” the Immortal hissed.

“They are but the labs and interrogation rooms are above us.  If they are creating a Time Distorter then the artefacts will be there.  I’m hoping Eversleigh will be safely in his cell and not in one of the interrogation room.

“I still don’t understand why they have to send for a torturer, Torchwood One had a whole army of thugs,” the Doctor said confused.

“And an army of thugs is conspicuous in the London business district especially with Ianto and UNIT watching the recruitment of ex-soldiers and policemen.  Unlike Torchwood One, Ianto doesn’t believe Firebrand have the resources to train their own army.

“Firebrand’s security consists of eight men with reputations questionable enough that they would lock a man up but not enough to do more than give him a light beating.  They’re also loners so if any of them object it’s easy to make them disappear,” Gwen told him breathlessly as she kept up with the other two.

Six flights up, they stopped.  The Doctor got out his screwdriver and checked the door for alarms and again found nothing.

He pushed the door open a crack and they peered into an empty lobby.  It was still daytime and as they headed down a corridor and peered into one of the rooms leading off of it.

It was a fully working science lab and people buzzed around in it not noticing the door opening slightly. 

The Time Lord used his sonic screwdriver to scan for signs of temporal distortion before withdrawing from the doorway.

“I’m heading for the interrogation rooms?” Jack said and the Doctor looked at him in slight surprise.

He was as concerned about Eversleigh as Jack was, but the dangers the temporal experiments posed were much greater than one man’s life, the Immortal would know that.

Then he remembered the flinch when he’d first mentioned it to the Immortal, how Ianto had gone to comfort him.  Something had obviously happened to make Jack afraid of temporal distortion.

“I’ll go with you,” Gwen said firmly.

The Doctor exchanged a glance with the Welshwoman, she didn’t know why Jack was so eager to suddenly find Eversleigh but she knew something was up.

The Time Lord nodded and turned his attention back to his sonic screwdriver.  He could detect traces of recent temporal activity but nothing current.

He headed in the opposite direction to the one Jack and Gwen had gone in.  He felt very out of place and knew that anyone spotting them would know he didn’t belong; the devices Ianto had given them only worked against technological security not people.

The Doctor regretted not arriving at night but he didn’t want to leave Eversleigh in Firebrand’s hands any longer than necessary.  Still, in his suit hopefully meant he didn’t look as odd as some of his past selves might have.

At last he found the room that was the source of the temporal signatures.  He opened the door slightly and peered in.

Immediately the Doctor was on alert.  The room was empty and all of the equipment was on standby.

He entered cautiously and crossed to the experiment.  There were the three artefacts he’d seen in Ianto’s catalogue and a couple of other dangerous components that the Welshman didn’t know about.

The Time Distorter looked almost finished but it was abandoned.  It was still missing a power source capable or bringing it up to full capacity but it had a temporary one good enough to conduct basic tests.

The Doctor suddenly wondered if Firebrand had known they were here.  Had they evacuated this room knowing that he would come?

He did a quick scan with his sonic screwdriver.  The experimental distorter had last been used five days ago so that theory didn’t quite fly.

There was no point in really debating it, Firebrand couldn’t be allowed to keep those components so the Time Distorter had to be disassembled.

A fit of paranoia made the Doctor lock to door, which was his only way in or out.  He then activated his sonic screwdriver and began to undo Firebrand’s handiwork.

The third artefact was free before the Time Lord noticed how sleepy he was feeling.  Alarm woke him a little and he sniffed the air detecting a sedative gas.

Firebrand knew he was here and what he was doing.

He thought it odd that they were trying to gas him instead of breaking down the door and coming in mob handed.  For a second he wondered if the device he was dismantling was a fake.

No, his Time Lord senses told him this device was the real deal.  It didn’t explain why Firebrand were sacrificing it but that wasn’t as important as getting the job done.

The Doctor just managed to remove the last dangerous component from the device and slipped it into his pocket when the sedative finally overpowered him and he fell into darkness.

 


	16. Chapter Sixteen

As the Doctor began to wake he realised he was sitting upright and that he couldn’t move his arms.  He opened his eyes to see Jack and Gwen each sitting against the walls of the cell with their arms chained in place above their heads.

“Just like old times,” the Time Lord said to himself.  “I was knocked out by sedative gas as I was trying to dismantle the Time Distorter, you?”

“We heard screams and ran straight into a trap.  I hate to say this but Ianto’s intelligence if off, they have way more than eight security guards,” Gwen replied scowling.

“I should have known it was a trap.  When you put your interrogation rooms on the same floor as your labs you sound proof them so you don’t disturb the scientists,” Jack said, looking disconsolately at the floor.

“Yes well I ignored the fact that the Time Distorter hadn’t been experimented with in five days,” the Doctor said trying to cheer his friend up.

The Immortal looked up and the Time Lord saw the same unhappy eyes he’d seen earlier in the TARDIS, only this time the face matched.

“I knew I was off my game, I should have told you to leave me behind,” Jack said apologetically.

“I’m sorry it wasn’t right for us to have talked about you and Ianto behind your back.  The Doctor was concerned about you that’s all,” Gwen said trying and failing to reach out to him.

“It wasn’t what you were talking about that upset me, it was the test,” Jack confessed.

“What test?” the Doctor asked, confused.

“The pregnancy test it was negative,” the Immortal replied.

There were a few minutes of stunned silence in which the Doctor and Gwen looked at each other before looking at their friend who was again staring at the floor.

Out of the corner of his eye the Time Lord could see Gwen trying to think of something to say.  She obviously didn’t know her Fifty-first century friend could get pregnant and couldn’t think of a tactful thing to say.

“You once told me you had no intention of ever baring a child again,” the Doctor said gently.

Long ago, when he was a different man, Jack had disappeared on him after they rescued a child.  He left Rose to enjoy the celebrations and found his, then mortal, friend getting plastered in a bar.

The Doctor could tell that something had really upset Jack and all it took was a few words for the story to spill out.

Jack hadn’t left the Time Agency just because they stole two years of his memories.  They had stolen two years in which the son he had given birth to had ceased to exist.

The Time Agency HQ wasn’t supposed to be affected by that sort of phenomena, and some illicit searching of the records told Jack that it wasn’t an accident, they had deliberately erased his son from history.

The pain of that loss was something he had never wanted to go through again.

“You told me then that that’s the sort of vow you break for the right person Doctor.  I knew when I married Ianto that if anyone could love me enough to see me through the loss of another child it would be him.

“I told him but he has never brought the subject up.  I’ve known for a long time that Ianto would have like to have had kids, but that was a dream he had given up for me.

“When I told him I could get pregnant I saw that he still wanted children, but would wait for me to be ready,” Jack said and a sad smile appeared on his face.

There was a light in the Immortal’s eyes when he mentioned his husband.  No one seeing it could doubt the love he felt.

“Four months ago I was watching Ianto write,” he began looking at Gwen.  “I’d snuck into the house after helping you out and I just watched him.

“I felt happier then than I have for years but...  I don’t know what exactly but later I found myself bringing up the subject of having kids again and realise that I really wanted to give Ianto a child. 

“We’ve been trying ever since and I always take a test before going on missions with you and they always come back negative,” Jack said unhappily to Gwen.

“You were baby making this morning, there’s hardly been enough time for you to actually conceive,” the Time Lord pointed out uncomfortably.

“Doctor when my fertility cycle starts Ianto and I baby make at every opportunity we can.  We don’t have sex when I’m not fertile so that Ianto can recuperate and save his strength for when I am.

“You know I haven’t topped him in months,” Jack told him wistfully.

“Too much information,” Gwen muttered.

“So you really don’t mind that Ianto deceives you?” the Time Lord asked wanting to steer the conversation away from the disturbing subject of procreation.

A smile grew across the Immortal’s face.

“When I worked for Torchwood most people saw me as the dashing hero.  You know what it’s like, they believe you can do anything and take it badly when you can’t.

“It gets worse when they find out I’m Immortal, that I can’t die.  They see me as a strong man who can take anything and see danger as nothing to me,” Jack said with an air of bitterness, the Time Lord understood that fully, Gwen hung her head slightly in same.

“To Ianto my Immortality doesn’t make me strong and powerful, it makes me vulnerable and precious.  He doesn’t look at the flesh and blood, he looks at my heart,” Jack said trying to pull his hand to his chest and failing.

“I don’t have any fears about what he feels for me because I can be aware of what he’s feeling anytime I choose.  I’m always surprised,” Jack said slightly confused as though he never expected the love he received from Ianto.

“When I found out Ianto had been keeping the conspiracy from me, I did feel a little hurt because that’s part of a life I wanted to protect him from.

“Mostly though I felt safe and loved, he kept his secrets so that my dreams wouldn’t be shattered, to protect my heart,” Jack’s smile at that moment was such a beautiful thing to behold but it fell too quickly.

“For months now I’ve wanted Ianto and I to have a baby more than anything else in the world.  Today when I saw the test was negative I wondered perhaps that was a good thing.

“Given who we are, will it ever be safe for Ianto and me to bring up a child?” Jack asked as tears fell from his eyes.

“Yes,” the Doctor said firmly.

“Between the three of us and your formidable Ianto any enemy will think twice about harming your child,” the Doctor’s voice was full of the darkness he used to warn enemies to stop.

He looked into Jack’s eye and let the Immortal see the silent vow that if anyone threatened his children they would have to face the Oncoming Storm.

Jack sagged with relief as he nodded in acceptance.  The Immortal looked to Gwen and saw the same determination and protectiveness in her eyes.

“When we get out I will upgrade yours and Ianto’s phones like Martha’s.  When you get to about your third month give me a call.  I’ll transport the two of you to somewhere where you can safely have your baby,” the Doctor told him.

“It will be alright, there won’t be any....” Jack began.

“My TARDIS is no space hopper, those within are protected from the vortex in a way those using Vortex Manipulators aren’t.  You won’t be the first pregnant person I’ve transported safely,” the Doctor reassured and the Immortal smiled.

Again the smile was too brief but this time it was broken by the sound to the cell door being opened.

 

 


	17. Chapter Seventeen

Jack had been so worried about telling the Doctor that he and Ianto were trying to have a child.

When he told Ianto that he was ready for them to have a baby his husband’s first concern was him, was he really ready, did he know how much he was loved without the need to get pregnant.

Jack couldn’t help comparing Ianto to the chosen father of his first child, John Hart.  His memories of that first pregnancy were sketchy but his ex-partner wasn’t in any of them.

When he found his son gone the first thing he had done was check with Hart, his ex was up for having a child together but knew nothing of their lost son.

Jack couldn’t stand him after that, it made plotting to leave the Time Agency easier.

All the love that poured off of Ianto when he mentioned being ready, made Jack certain he had chosen the right man to give his heart to, the right man at last to father a child.

Despite all his husband’s love, Jack felt reluctant to tell the Doctor.  He had shared this fear with Ianto who was certain the Time Lord would be happy for them, but the Welshman promised that he would say nothing.

Despite the years that had passed, the healing he had undergone, mostly at Ianto’s hands, Jack feared that his ‘wrongness’ meant he shouldn’t have children.

To see that look in the Time Lord’s eye, to hear that promise that any children he had would be protected, made Jack feel such relief.

Of course the bad guys chose that moment to make an entrance.

The first thing Jack observed was that Gwen was right, there were more than eight people undoing the restraints and re-chaining them for transport.

It wasn’t like Ianto to get something like that wrong.

They were dragged along the corridor and into the lift.  Any attempts the three of them made to have a conversation was met with silence.

Jack was sure that they were not being taken to the same floor that they have been captured on.  It was disconcerting to be shoved into a room with a large window and locked into a chair.

There was a fourth empty chair, a large desk and a lab bench in the room.  The Doctor was still shouting to speak to someone in charge when a fourth man was dragged in and placed in the empty chair.

They all looked at the fourth prisoner angrily.  He was covered in scars and bruises and he whimpered as he was manhandled into position.

Jack looked to the Doctor in confusion, how had Ianto got these people wrong because he was certain that was Sergeant Eversleigh.

Gwen tried to talk to Eversleigh but one of the guards came over and hit her with the back of his hand.  She glared at him in defiance but remained silent as he retreated.

“So when are we going to meet the person in charge? Surely they want to have a gloat?” the Time Lord asked.

The guards didn’t come up to him and hit him they just stayed silent.

“Oh so you only hit women,” Gwen shouted at them tauntingly.

Jack knew that if she were free that guard would have a broken nose.  The guard who hit her stepped forward again but his colleague restrained him.

“Hello,” the Doctor said and the guards parted as the door opened.

Several men came in carrying crates and stacked them in a corner.  They were followed by a woman with her blond hair bound up and dark rimmed glasses.

She looked over them although she flinched away from Eversleigh.  Ianto was right about her, she was a coward.

“You do make an interesting collection.  The Doctor, Captain Harkness and Gwen Cooper of Torchwood,” she said looking at each of them.

It took effort on his part not to correct her regarding his name, but he didn’t want this woman even thinking about Ianto’s existence.

“Since when have Torchwood done UNIT’s bidding?” she asked looking them over they only stared back.

“So you were just trying to rescue him while you were here to inconvenience me?” she asked nodding but not looking at Eversleigh.

She walked towards the Doctor and was obviously disconcerted not to see him scowl at her.  The Time Lord was looking at her appraisingly and wasn’t the least bit frightened.

“You disassembled a valuable experiment that has taken us months to put together.  I would never have allowed it, but Mr. Timmons assured me that he could make you beg to not only put it back together but would correct any mistakes our scientists made,” she said smugly.

As the woman said Timmons, Jack felt his blood run cold.  He prayed it wasn’t Joshua Timmons she was talking about, Jack knew his reputation far too well.  Timmons’s death warrant was one of the few Torchwood One decisions Jack had no problems agreeing with.

“Mr. Timmons?” the Doctor asked.

“Joshua Timmons you can see his handiwork with the good Sergeant,” she replied again nodding at but not looking at Eversleigh as he whimpered.

“Do you want us to unpack this lot ma’am?” one of the men who had carried in the crates asked.

“No we wouldn’t want Timmons to get blood on any of it,” she said waving the men she’d brought in with her to leave.

“Mr. Timmons will be with you shortly,” she told them smirking and left the room leaving only two guards.

“Alright Jack who is this Joshua Timmons?” the Doctor asked.

“He’s a man wanted by most law enforcement, espionage and Alien investigation agencies in the world.  He specialises in torturing, assassinating and tormenting agents.  In the fifteen years Torchwood has know about him, he has killed twenty-three agents and five of their families,” Jack said solemnly.

Gwen swore and for once the Doctor didn’t comment on her language.

“Three of those agents and one family belonged to Torchwood Cardiff before I took charge.  I tried to find him but he was just gone.

“Doctor if half the rumours about him are true, he would have happily given the Master pointers,” Jack concluded and the Time Lord hung his head.

Before they could discuss the matter any further the door to the room opened and their would-be torturer entered.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

Of all the things that could have possibly walked through the door, the man who entered was the last one the Doctor expected.

His eyes were dark and he looked like he was in his early forties.  He ignored them and walked to the table and set down his large briefcase.  He opened it revealing a number of devices and knives.

He took one out and began to press the buttons on it.

Too late the Doctor realised that they were all staring at him with varying expressions of shock and relief on their faces and they had drawn the attention of one of the guards.

Before he could even squeak a warning, Ianto Harkness-Jones pressed a device into the guard’s neck and stepped swiftly away from him as he collapsed.

“What?” the other guard said as he heard his colleague hit the floor.

He barely had time to consider how that had happened before Ianto pressed the stun gun into him and he joined the other guard on the floor.

Still ignoring them Ianto went to the door and called the guards out there in.  They too were unconscious within seconds of entering the room.

“I cannot believe you gave me away.  You would think you’d never been rescued by a friend before,” he said conversationally as he rifled through the guards pockets for the keys.

“I know what it is, you left me in Cardiff and now I’m here in the Torchwood Tower.  Well you left _five_ days ago; I’ve been pretending to torture poor Eversleigh for the last three.

“You know if they weren’t so squeamish I would never have been able to get away with that.  If you’d been much longer I might have been found out, there’s only so much you can do with a novelty blade and a twenty-fourth century make-up wand,” Ianto told them conversationally as he found the keys and walked over to unlock Jack.

“Of course it helps that Eversleigh is a great actor,” he said as the key did its work and his husband was free.

Jack instantly jumped up and threw the chair aside as he turned.  He grabbed Ianto to him and pressed their lips together for a kiss.

 _That’s one way of verifying Ianto’s identity I supposed_ , the Doctor thought as he watched his friend’s reunion.

 “Put him down Jack,” the Time Lord called out when he realised that his friend had no intention of stopping any time soon.

“He can’t rescue us with you molesting him,” Gwen added.

Their words didn’t slow the Immortal down if anything he seemed to cling tighter.

Ianto however transferred the keys from his right hand to his left and held them out towards the Time Lord.  There was no way he could aim with Jack’s hands running up and down his body but by a miracle he let go at just the right moment for the Doctor to catch them.

As soon as he was free the Doctor looked at Gwen who nodded before going to Eversleigh.  The Sergeant was looking him straight in the eye, he was deliberately not looking at Jack and Ianto, and there was no gloss of pain.

The Time Lord quickly released him.  Eversleigh groaned as he flexed his muscles and spat out a couple of wads of cloth that had puffed out his cheeks.

He headed for the Welshman’s briefcase while the Doctor went to release Gwen.

“Put him down Jack so that he can finish rescuing us,” the Welshwoman complained rubbing her wrists as soon as she was free.

Ianto pulled away from Jack.

“Time to be rescued,” the Welshman said firmly.

Jack gave him last chaste kiss before turning to face them.  The Doctor noticed though that the Immortal didn’t let go of his husband’s hand.

“Your Sonic and the rest of the stuff they took from your pockets are in the briefcase along with our guns.  Thanks to Miss Simpkin’s gullibility, and Timmon’s reputation, the bits of their Temporal Disruptor are in the crates,” Ianto told them.

The Doctor headed for the briefcase and saw that Eversleigh had already opened the secret compartment at the bottom and had helped himself to a gun and sports drink.

He took his things and began to help Gwen in opening the crates.  A few minutes later Eversleigh joined them but Jack prevented Ianto from helping.

“Are you alright?” the Immortal asked his husband.

“Yes I’m alright,” the Welshman told him gently.

“I didn’t want you to be here,” Jack said firmly.

“I know but I didn’t have any choice.  I helped UNIT capture the real Timmons as he was entering the country.  He’s safely locked away but they were dithering about what to do with him.

“Martha couldn’t get hold of you and I knew it was only a matter of time before Firebrand realised he wasn’t coming and got someone else, they were already hiring more muscle.

“So I borrowed the make-up wand from my friend at the Black Archives, stole a pint of Eversleigh’s blood, got a joke shop knife and came here pretending to be Timmons.

“I know you didn’t want me to...” Ianto was cut off as Jack again began to kiss him.

Gwen sighed and rolled her eyes before continuing the search of the crates.  The Doctor caught an amused look on Eversleigh’s face.

“Who would have thought that Captain Harkness was a closet sub,” the Sergeant said as he caught the Time Lord looking at him.

“What?” Gwen asked.

“Oh I know a Dom when he’s pretending to torture me.  I’ve been horny for days and it isn’t as though I could have a wank in my cell,” Eversleigh explained.

“Don’t let Jack here you say that,” Gwen advised.

“Who would have thought a Yorkshire Accent could be so erotic,” the Sergeant added wistfully as he opened another crate.

“Yorkshire?” Gwen said confused.

“Timmons always speaks with a broad Yorkshire accent.  No one knows why because as far as I can tell he was brought up in Bristol,” Ianto said finally helping with the crates.

“What about the Box of Oncreath?” the Doctor asked once all the dangerous components of the Time Distorter were safely stashed in their pockets.

“Something I didn’t tell you is that I have a man inside Firebrand,” the Welshman said going to his briefcase.

“I was hoping that this would be a quick in and out job but had him ready as backup if you needed it.  That’s before I found out about Timmons and realised you were going to be late.”

As Ianto explained he picked up a cylindrical device and turned it first on Eversleigh and then himself.  Under its purple glow the Sergeant’s bruises and the Welshman’s aging disappeared leaving only the contact lenses to be removed before looking himself again.

“So where’s the TARDIS?  I assume they’ve moved it,” the Doctor said turning to Ianto as he pocketed his things.

“Actually when they tried they managed to trip a security protocol that locked down that entire floor; they can’t get to your TARDIS,” the Welshman reassured them as he pulled out a number of bottles and some syringes.

“So how do we get past them?” Gwen asked despite knowing that Ianto was probably the one to activate the protocol in the first place.

“They can be deactivated by the head of Torchwood,” Jack replied offering his arm to be injected after Ianto injected himself and changed the needle.

“When I got here I instructed the security system to flood everywhere except this room and where my friend is with sedative gas.  This is a counteragent,” Ianto explained as he prepared an injection for Gwen.

“I also activated a perception device in the security centre so that if they look at the monitors they will see Timmons torturing you lot.  Hopefully they will all be unconscious and we can escape,” the Welshman added after she nodded and he injected her.

“So is the head of Torchwood you or Gwen?” the Doctor asked Jack as Eversleigh was injected.

“Actually the computers here think its Ianto,” Jack told him as the Welshman arrived with a variety of counteragents for the Doctor to pick and inject himself with.

“Why?” Gwen asked as Ianto pulled out his phone and dialled.

The Welshman held up his hand and listened to what the person on the other end was saying.

“Yes it’s time,” Ianto told them and hung up a few seconds later before turning to them.

“We can go now,” he informed them and looked out of the door.

He led them into an empty corridor and they hurried along it.

“Ianto had to go into the Torchwood Tower after the battle to collect some artefacts for safe keeping.  The easiest way for him to do that was to convince the mainframe that he was now the head of Torchwood.

“He also deactivated a number of security systems that would have killed my team and UNIT’s as we checked for survivors and removed the remaining artefacts,” Jack explained as the turned a corner.

The Doctor had to admire his friend’s swift tongue.  Both he and Gwen knew that the artefacts Ianto had gone to rescue were the ones he used to keep Lisa alive in her half cyberized state.

Eversleigh however wasn’t to know that and judging from the smile Ianto sent Jack’s way, the Welshman appreciated it.

At that moment though they heard footsteps approaching.

“I’m not perfect,” Ianto said with a shrug as they all turned to him.

“Yes you are,” Jack replied and they others groaned but the Welshman smiled.

They turned away from the approaching guards and raced down another corridor.  The Doctor whipped out his sonic and began to work on the door to the staircase.

Armed men turned into their corridor and began shooting.  Jack and Gwen had their guns out and covered the others and the Time Lord got the door open.

Eversleigh covered the other two and they entered and the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to lock the door after them.

They headed up towards the TARDIS.  They only managed to get up two flights before they heard people entering from above.

The Doctor opened the next door back into the Firebrand offices and Jack gave them the all clear before letting them through.

They ran through the corridors until they reached the next staircase.  Up they went until they heard men above them and then they went out into the offices again.

They went up and along, up and along all the way to the floor where the TARDIS was.  They encountered guards once more in the corridors between staircases and managed to get away from them.

When they reached the floor where the TARDIS was Ianto prevented them from opening it after the Doctor unlocked it.  He took a grenade from out of his pocket, pulled the pin and quietly rolled it into the corridor beyond the door.

Ianto closed his eyes and covered his ears and the others followed suit before the flash grenade went off.  Jack still took the precaution of looking out first but the guards who had been waiting were out cold.

The Welshman went to a panel and the security screen that was blocking the corridor rose.  Once they were on the other side he instructed it to shut seconds before they heard more footsteps approaching.

“What about your friend?” the Time Lord asked.

“Don’t worry he has Torchwood One security clearance,” Ianto told him and hurried off.

They answer to that mystery was solved as they saw Mickey waiting for them holding the Box of Oncreath.  The Doctor and Jack both enveloped them man in a swift hug before the former opened the TARDIS door and ushered them all inside.

The Time Lord headed straight for the controls and put the TARDIS into flight as soon as everyone was in and the doors were closed.

“How can it be bigger inside?” Eversleigh asked in wonder.

“It’s dimensionally transindental.  Don’t they brief you properly in UNIT,” Mickey teased.

“What do you think Ianto?” the Time Lord asked, believing that this was the Welshman’s first trip too.

“Ianto?” he asked when he realised that the young man wasn’t paying him any attention.  Instead he was heading around the console with a slightly vacant expression.

Too late the Time Lord remembered an incident when he had visited before, when the TARDIS and lured the Welshman to her and he would have entered if the Doctor hadn’t woken him.

At the time he thought she had wanted to do something nice for Ianto, something to ease the pain like a little paradoxical trip to the stars. 

Now he realised that wasn’t the case and started to run.

A panel opened that the Doctor had only known to open twice before and Ianto stared into the heart of the TARDIS.

“Yes,” the Welshman said firmly.

The panel closed and the blinding light was gone.  Ianto Harnkess-Jones collapsed into his husband’s waiting arms.

 

 


	19. Chapter Nineteen

The Doctor’s hearts were in his throat as he took the last few steps to be at Ianto’s side.  _Please don’t let him be wrong_ , was a guilty mantra in his head.

He liked Ianto a lot, thought he was perfect for Jack, but the Time Lord didn’t want him to become another fixed point in space and time, didn’t want him to share Jack’s cursed Immortality.

As he knelt down beside the couple relief flooded through him.  The only fixed point was Jack, and he and the TARDIS had learnt to live with that because they loved their friend.

The Doctor pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver and scanned Ianto’s unconscious form.  He could see the Welshman was still breathing and his pulse was steady.

“Let’s get him to the medical bay,” the Time Lord said after staring at the scan results in confusion.

Mickey and Gwen helped Jack lift Ianto but the Immortal insisted on carrying his husband by himself.  Mickey raced ahead with Eversleigh to prepare the medical bay while the Welshwoman followed the Immortal.

The Doctor looked up at the TARDIS’s central column as she landed before stepping to the console.  He placed his hands over the panel that had opened and reached out his mind to contact his ship.

To his surprise he felt relief, as if whatever Ianto had agreed to had lifted a burden from her mind.  He tried to probe further, find out what had passed between them, but she refused to tell him.  All he could sense was stubborn protectiveness.

If she wasn’t going to tell him he would have to find out from Ianto when he woke, _please let him be the same man_.

When he arrived at the medical bay Jack and Mickey had already gotten him hooked up to the equipment.  The Doctor avoided the side where his friend now sat holding his husband’s hand.

“He’s not Immortal and the Time Vortex isn’t in him,” the Doctor told Jack as he scanned him with the Sonic again.

“In fact what traces of time energy were on him when I did my first scan have now faded.  That is odd though,” the Time Lord said to himself.

“What?” Jack said desperately.

“There are alien cells in his body.”

“Are they immune cells?” his friend asked.

“Yes,” the Doctor said curiously.

“That’s Ianto’s second immune system,” the Immortal said relaxing.

“Second immune system?”

“Do you remember our encounter with Duram of Rucath?” Jack asked.

“They’re Rucathic cells,” the Doctor exclaimed as he automatically compared the immune cells to the TARDIS’s database.

He turned back to his friend to see that Jack didn’t appreciate his outburst.  In fact the Immortal looked slightly hostile.

 _Well my ship did just do something to the love of his life, I’d be a bit upset if that happened to me too_ , the Time Lord reasoned.

“If I remember rightly Duram was trying to create a Temporal Manipulator that could be controlled by thought, dangerous.  We persuaded the Rucathic government to put a stop to it and they did,” the Doctor stated sadly.

The Rucathics had destroyed their own economy to stop Duram but he escaped their custody.  The government had asked them to leave; the Time Lord couldn’t blame them.

“The missing geneticist, Pharen, was kidnapped by him.  He forced her to create viruses that would each carry part of his plans and all of his personality and then sent them to Earth because he had a sample of Rose’s DNA to make them compatible, a suitable revenge. 

“Pharen was completely dominated by Duram, the only act of rebellion she dared was twinning an anti-virus with each virus to give the hosts a choice between being his acolyte or free.

“Her last virus however allowed the other viruses and thus the plans to be assembled.  It had her personality so that Duram’s followers could dominate the host that made the manipulator,” Jack said darkly.

“Let me guess Ianto was the host of the last virus,” the Doctor could tell from the Immortal’s tone and the way he hovered closer to his husband.

“Did he fight the virus?” Eversleigh asked.

“Our friend Tosh was given a re-engineered version of one of the viruses, they removed the anti-virus and it allowed Duram to control her completely.

“For her sake Ianto made the manipulator then used it to destroy others like it and then itself while undoing the virus’s effects,” Gwen answered when it became obvious Jack wasn’t going to.

“Very clever,” the Doctor said admiringly and Jack looked up at him and smiled sadly.

“The virus started transforming Ianto into a Rucath.  When it was over Pharen’s antivirus transformed him back, we think the second immune system was a parting gift,” Jack told him quietly.

The Doctor looked back at the scan results and admired Pharen’s handiwork. 

Normally the Welshman’s body should have attacked those cells but they were made of his DNA, were part of his DNA.  Any of Jack and Ianto’s children would have that second immune system.

There was something else that didn’t seem quite right about the Welshman’s DNA though.  He would have to check it against a historical sample that Torchwood held to be sure but he hoped that just meant Pharen had given Ianto something more than just excellent health.

“Apart from that, I can’t find anything wrong with him.  He’s just in deep sleep,” the Doctor told Jack gently.

“Have we landed?” the Immortal asked.

“Yes,” he replied.

“Then we’re leaving,” Jack said disconnecting all of the monitors.

Mickey looked to the Doctor who nodded that it was okay to help.  The Time Lord would have assisted himself but Jack glared him away.

He led the way back to the console room and dashed to check it was safe to leave. 

Jack however didn’t wait.

He gave Ianto to Mickey while he stuck his head outside the door then retrieved his husband and went out.  The Doctor followed him out hoping that they would be friends again once the Welshman woke up.

“We’re in section T?” the Time Lord exclaimed in surprise as the emerged in the Torchwood Three Archives.

Jack glared at him with intense suspicion before moving away.  The Doctor sighed but couldn’t blame his friend.

He turned back into the TARDIS and quickly set her in motion.

“Where are you going?” Mickey demanded and the Time Lord realised that only Eversleigh had followed him and the Captain out.

“Jack’s probably going to take Ianto to their Playroom.  I’m guessing though that it hadn’t been used since they left so I thought I’d pop a couple of hours back in time and give it an airing & change the sheets,” the Doctor said as the TARDIS landed and he headed out the door.

“Their Playroom,” Mickey said in surprise as he emerged to see the large, four poster bed surrounded by cameras, an artists canvas and paints, screens and a few open wardrobes with bondage equipment peeping out.

“Yes they used to make homemade porn here and shag like rabbits.  After we lost Tosh and Owen though they used it sometimes as an artist’s studio,” Gwen said pointing at the canvas.

The Doctor didn’t bother to check the painting with Mickey because he was sure knew what was there.

 _Unfinished Beauty_ was probably what Jack was working on when he and Ianto were arrested.  They hadn’t come back here until today and he would never complete the painting, though he had painted others since and would paint many more.

In it Ianto was lying on his stomach with his back to the artist but he was looking over his shoulder so that his face could be seen.  The Welshman’s face, shoulders and bottom as well as a rough outline of the back and legs were all that had been completed.

The Doctor knew it was destined to stay here until Torchwood rediscovered the room many centuries in the future.  They would recognise it as a Jack Harkness-Jones painting and sell it for a fortune.

When he looked at Mickey, after activating the air circulation controls, he saw a strange look on his friends face.  The other man had never struck him as being interested in art and put it down to him finding Jack’s talent surprising.

There were no clean sheets in the Playroom store cupboard which meant that they had probably used the room just before they were taken.  He headed back into the TARDIS and went to get some new ones.

When he returned to the console Mickey was using the phone.  He guessed that he was calling Martha and letting her know that they would arrive in the archives in a few hours.

Gwen helped him change the sheets and they returned to the TARDIS and the time they had just left.  When they exited the Doctor felt slightly smug that they were only a few minutes behind their friends.

Martha and Marcus Davenport and intercepted them as they left the Archives.  Mickey had obviously prepared his wife because she was carrying a bag full of medical equipment.

The Time Lord opened the Playroom door and got another threatening glare from the Immortal.  Jack then laid Ianto down on the bed and sat beside him.

Martha checked his pulse, breathing and a few other things with her instruments while the Doctor did another probe with the Sonic Screwdriver.

They both confirmed that Ianto was only in a deep sleep.

Jack ignored them after that.  He sat there holding his husband’s hand, stroking his head as if the two of them were alone.

The others looked at each other, they all felt like intruders but they were anxious to know how Ianto was.

After a couple of minutes, the Doctor noticed a distinct change in the atmosphere.

“Is anyone else feeling a little uncomfortable?” he asked after they all started to twitch a little.

“You mean are we all feeling horny and I think the answer is yes,” Mickey said bluntly.

“I think Ianto must be having a good dream, he sometimes unconsciously projects his emotions,” the Doctor said apologetically.

“We know,” Gwen said getting her phone our.

“If Ianto’s having erotic dreams then I think it’s time to give those two some privacy.  Did Ianto sort you out a nice pad?” Mickey asked turning to his wife.

“Yes,” she replied grabbing his hand.

“Well I haven’t seen you in months darling, I think it’s time to give each other a thorough inspection,” he said and Martha laughed as she followed him out.

Gwen was already on the phone to Rhys and leaving as the Doctor ushered Eversleigh and Marcus Davenport out of the Playroom.  He didn’t like the look either were giving Jack and Ianto but he knew the locks would keep them out.

He headed back to the TARDIS as soon as he noticed Eversleigh eyeing him and then Marcus up and down. 

The Doctor had no intention of leaving until he knew that Ianto was alright, but he preferred to go and solve the mystery of the Box of Oncreath while the Hub became Lust Central.

 


	20. Chapter Twenty

When Jack saw Ianto bathing the light from the heart of the TARDIS he was certain his heart stopped.  He’d seen what had happened to Margaret the Slitheen, heard what Rose had done and felt the effects in his own Immortality and it terrified.

In those few minutes between catching his unconscious husband and waiting for the Time Lord’s pronouncement, he thought and felt nothing.

Guiltily Jack couldn’t decide if he was relieved of disappointed when the Doctor announced that Ianto wasn’t Immortal.  He was torn between begin glad the man he loved wasn’t cursed, and hurt by the reminder that he couldn’t keep this precious man forever.

The Immortal was in mental limbo. 

He’d felt a stab of joy when the Time Lord announced that Ianto was just sleeping but it was overwhelmed by the need to get the Welshman away from the TARDIS.

Rationally Jack knew that she would never have done anything to hurt Ianto, but his heart was too fragile to accept that.

The Medical Bay, Autopsy and his bunk were never really options as places to take Ianto.  The Playroom however was more than just a sex-pad; it had additional shielding and security with which to keep Ianto safe.

Jack paid no attention to the others after he put Ianto into the bed.  He had lost five days of his husband’s precious life and how he was afraid that he might lose more.

He opened his awareness to see if anything about the man he loved was different.  Jack’s senses confirmed what the Doctor and Martha had told him, Ianto was fine, just sleeping.

Jack was aware that Ianto was having an erotic dream long before the Doctor was.  He had absolute faith in his husband and hoped his dream self was showing the Welshman a good time.

The Doctor would probably have been glad not to notice, but while they were discussing their Ianto induced arousal, Jack was acting on his.

He was already taken off his shoes and sock and had undone the buttons of his shirt.  He was working on his belt when the others left.

Minutes after the door closed he was fully naked and staring down at his husband.  Jack decided that Ianto couldn’t be comfortable, he certainly wouldn’t be happy if he came in his clothes, so he should be naked too.

He removed Ianto’s clothes as gently as he could, careful not to wake him.  Part of Jack was so tempted to touch his beautiful husband further but another part of him was afraid to. 

Despite his earlier faith it crossed the Immortal’s mind that perhaps the TARDIS had done what she did to steal Ianto for the Doctor.  The Welshman was brilliant and not wrong, so of course the Time Lord would desire him for a companion.

As though he could hear Jack’s thoughts Ianto opened his eyes.  The Immortal searched them urgently for an ethereal glow.

There was a glow in Ianto’s eyes but it was love not the time vortex.

Usually after times of crisis like this, Jack liked to take control.  He liked to worship Ianto’s body and reassure himself that everything was okay.

At that moment though he was feeling stunned.  He couldn’t quite believe that Ianto was fine and looking at him like he was the most wonderful thing in the universe.

Ianto moved over on the bed and held out a hand to invite Jack to lie beside him.  The Immortal couldn’t believe the speed in which he complied, but fear prevented him from making another move.

Seconds later the Welshman pounced.

He kissed his husband with fierce passion and Jack wrapped his arms around him, finding his courage in that kiss.

Ianto obviously felt no uncertainty, no caution in his feelings.  He then kissed Jack’s forehead, his cheeks and his nose tenderly as though paying homage to the beauty beneath his lips.

As he moved down to suck his husband’s neck the Welshman stared deep into the Immortal’s eyes.  He kissed, licked, nipped and sucked a path to Jack’s right arm and never once lost eye contact.

Ianto’s message to Jack was clear.  _Look at me, feel me, I’m real, I’m here with you_.

And Jack did feel.

He felt his arousal rushing hotly through him.  Jack could tell that Ianto had opened his awareness, that he knew exactly what effect he was having and what effect he wanted to have.

After moving down his right arm, sucking the Immortal’s fingers gently in his mouth, Ianto moved up again and across Jack’s shoulders.

The Welshman gave the same tenderness to his husband’s left arm, except that he gently kissed Jack’s wedding ring before attending to his fingers.

It felt a little strange for him to have Ianto in control at this moment but it wasn’t about claiming his husband from the world.  It was about his husband protecting him from the fears for his heart.

Ianto moved slowly down Jack’s torso, teasing the Immortal’s nipples with his teeth the way he secretly loved.  He wasn’t too disappointed when the Welshman avoided his groin; he wanted his legs to feel those wonderful lips.

Jack’s husband moved slowly down his legs.  Ianto’s nose wrinkled slightly as he sucked the Immortal’s toes and kissed the undersides of his feet but he did it.

One his journey down and up Jack’s right leg the only place not touched were his inner thighs.  This Ianto remedied as soon as he finished with the left leg.

Jack wondered how Ianto knew where on his husband’s body he was, because he seemed to be more than just using his enhanced senses to guide him. 

The Welshman kissed, licked and sucked moving from one inner thigh to the other up towards the Immortal’s groin and he still hadn’t broken eye contact.

As Ianto lowered his mouth over Jack’s waiting, weeping cock, with those beautiful, loving eyes still looking at him, that Jack realised it was because his husband knew him so intimately.

With that knowledge, Jack came.

As he returned to himself he looked back down at Ianto.  The Welshman waited for Jack to look at him before letting the soft cock slip from his mouth.

Despite having just brought Jack to orgasm Ianto still kissed and licked his testes before rising to kiss his lips again.

Jack could feel Ianto’s hardness pressing into his thigh. 

He broke away from his husband, reached to open a draw and retrieve some lube and turned so that his back was exposed and his arse waiting.

Ianto chuckled softly and accepted the lube, kissing Jack’s hand as he did.  The Welshman slicked up his fingers and pressed one slowly inside.

Jack smiled happily as Ianto began to kiss, lick, suck and nip at the Immortal’s back.  That was exactly what he had hoped would happen and the man he loved knew that.

By the time his arse had been completely attended to by Ianto’s lips Jack was open, hard and rutting into the bed.

The withdrawal of the Welshman’s fingers brought equal disappointment and anticipation.

Ianto slowly pushed inside Jack with a soft moan, then turned them over so that they were on their sides.

They lay there for a moment, and Jack wondered if it was just his imagination but it seemed that he could feel love radiating from every inch of Ianto that touched him, every inch within him.

Jack pined as Ianto withdrew and felt overjoyed when he returned.

The Immortal knew his wonderful Welshman was perfection as he withdrew slowly and thrust in swiftly, as though his husband was as reluctant to leave and eager to return.

Each thrust and withdrawal were punctuated with increasingly loud moans.  _Hear me, smell me, feel me, I’m real, I’m here with you_

As Ianto began to get closer to orgasm, his thrusts and withdrawals sped up.  Jack didn’t mind, he was hard again and wanted to come too.

The Welshman reached around him and began to stroke his aching cock. 

He thought it strange afterwards, but at that moment Jack felt safe and loved.  This was his Ianto surrounding him, in him and the fear that had been in him since he saw the light from the heart of the TARDIS upon the Welshman’s face evaporated.

They came together and all Jack could feel was love washing over and though him in waves of pleasure.

As the Immortal became aware of the world for the second time Ianto kissed his neck tenderly and slipped out of him.

Jack turned instantly and began to kiss his husband passionately.

 


	21. Chapter Twenty-one

The Doctor entered the TARDIS and closed the door behind him. 

He knew Ianto had woken up before he reached the archives but there was no way he was going to return and disturb him and Jack, he’d learnt that lesson this morning.

The Time Lord knew the Welshman was awake because the feelings of lust changed to love.  It was the same wonderful, heartbreaking sensation he’d felt while making fairy cakes and he wished his friends joy with just a trace of envy.

He still wanted to check that Ianto was alright, he still wanted to know what had passed between the Welshman and his TARDIS, but he would wait.

The Doctor saw the Box of Oncreath waiting where Mickey had put it down.  He sauntered over and pulled the Sonic Screwdriver over to do a quick scan.

As he waved the Sonic he noticed the inscription the Oncreath had embossed on it in gold.

“‘ _Beware; that which eats the soul lies in wait within_ ’ very cryptic pronouncement of doom and gloom,” the Doctor said to himself and checked the results.

The stone and metal the box was composed of was native to Tutal, however it had been constructed using molecular bonding, something the Chichari weren’t capable of, proving that it was Oncreath.

He the readings also indicated that it was made a few years before the completion of the window in the sanctuary that showed Jojar, Tutal’s second moon.

Thinking of the blue moon that Vikiri’s people had worshiped, the Time Lord realised that all the silver decoration on the box was circular.  They looked like seals keeping the lid closed, only they all had a gash through them.

His hearts skipped a beat; someone had tried to open the Box of Oncreath.  The questions were, had they succeeded?  And what was the eater of souls it contained?

He decided he needed to do more sophisticated tests than he could perform with the Sonic Screwdriver.  The Doctor picked the box up and took it to the console.

Just as he was about to put the box on the scanner all the panels went dark.  The Doctor let go of the box and danced around the console trying to find out what had happened.

The Time Lord could still feel the TARDIS’s presence but there was no life in the console.  She felt very worried, slightly frightened.

The Doctor’s first thought was of Ianto, perhaps something had gone wrong with whatever had passed between them.  He ran to the door and stuck his head out.

The Time Lord relaxed when he felt the love being projected by Ianto.  He put his hand to the door of his TARDIS as he re-entered and realised that she was being reassured and basking in the Welshman’s emotions.

He looked back and the panels were still dark.  The Doctor quickly realised that it was the box, something about the Box on Oncreath she didn’t like and didn’t want him to know.

The Time Lord returned to the console and picked the box.

“Sorry old girl but I have to know.  If this box has brought trouble to Earth I have to sort it out,” the Doctor told her as he patted her gently.

He felt a sad acknowledgement of this truth.  She knew he had to do this, which was why she let him get the box from Canary Wharf.

The Doctor then realised that was why they arrived late and Martha hadn’t been able to reach them.  She had waited for Ianto to be in Canary Wharf so that he would board her during the rescue and she could do what she’d done.

What was so unique about Ianto Harkness-Jones that she needed?

The Doctor’s first thought was of that second immune system.  Perhaps the eater of souls was a disease and the TARDIS had done something with Ianto’s unique immunities to help create a cure.

That didn’t quite fit with Jojar the blue moon.  Why would the Oncreath think a moon brought healing?  Unless it was a coincidence, and the Doctor didn’t believe in those.

He obviously wasn’t going to find any answers about the Box in the TARDIS.  Also if he was to test his theory about Ianto’s immune system, he would need to see the Welshman’s medical records and check the mission logs.

Picking up the Box, the Doctor left his ship and headed out into Archives.  He knew where Torchwood’s little used labs were situated and made his way there.

He set up the equipment to run various tests, making adjustments with his Sonic to speed things along, and headed out to the main Hub. 

Cautiously the Doctor peered around; he didn’t want to run into Eversleigh or Marcus if they were being affected by Ianto’s emotions.

When he saw no one, he headed for a console to double check.  The only other people in the Hub, apart from some prisoners in the cells, were Jack and Ianto in their playroom.

He did a quick check on the activity up top and smiled. 

There was a gentleness about Ianto that was projected with his love.  From what he could see a lot of romances were blooming or being renewed, he found Eversleigh and Marcus had gone to a nearby Italian restaurant.

Part of the Doctor ached to go up there, to find someone to share a romantic meal and perhaps a more romantic universe.

The Time Lord shook himself, no more travelling companions and there was no love for him to find.

He headed for the autopsy bay and used the computer there to look for Ianto’s medical records.

One theory was disproved straight away.  The alterations to Ianto’s DNA had occurred after Jack’s return to Torchwood.  The TARDIS’s previous attempt to ensnare the young man happened before then.

The Time Lord studied Ianto’s DNA from before, after and during the transformation.  The equipment in the Hub wasn’t as sophisticated as that in the TARDIS but after making a few changes with his Sonic it was good enough for what he wanted.

“Yes, the changes are subtle but you didn’t just give him a second immune system did you Pharen.  Whatever the TARDIS did to you Ianto, she didn’t make any further changes,” the Time Lord said to himself.

He returned to the science lab where the experiments were running. 

He compared the results with the ones he got from his Sonic and the results Torchwood had gotten when they first collected the Box.

There were faint energy traces coming from the Box that hadn’t been there when Torchwood experimented on it.  The technology hadn’t improved that much in the years since the Box arrived on earth that mean the energy hadn’t been there before.

There was a suspicion forming in the Time Lord’s mind that he didn’t want to think of.

He looked again and the broken silver discs that he was sure represented Jojar.  The Oncreath had done their best to keep the Box sealed but someone at Firebrand had used an alien cutting device to slice through them.

The Doctor’s mind flickered back to the files of missing items.  One of them was a Torenian all purpose cutter that had been collected after the fall of the Torchwood Tower, which could have done the job.

There was nothing else to do but open the Box.

The TARDIS’s reaction made the Time Lord cautious for once.  He took the Box to another lab with quarantine facilities.

He felt a bit ridiculous, after all he and Mickey had been handling the thing for a good while, if there was anything was dangerous about the box it would probably have already happened.

Still he waited until it was in the containment area with a very sophisticated containment field around it before opening it.

With a mixture of anticlimax disappointment and worry the Doctor stared at the empty box.  More representation of Jojar lined the inside and the energy trace was stronger within.

 _‘That which eats the soul’_ was gone.

 


	22. Chapter Twenty-two

Ianto Jones relaxed on the bed and enjoyed the feel of Jack’s possessive passion.

That possessive passion was one of his guilty pleasures.  He hadn’t had any doubts about Jack’s faithfulness or love since their wedding day, but Ianto loved being wanted so absolutely.

The Welshman hated the slight look of fear he had seen in his husband’s eyes when he woke, especially after such a good dream.

The dream had faded now but he remembered a vision of Jack, his belly swollen with pregnancy and feeling incredibly aroused by it.

Ianto looked into those fearful eyes and wanted to banish that emotion from Jack’s spectrum forever.  Slowly with his lips the Welshman had managed to go just that.

Now after that second orgasm that possessive passion seemed to have returned.

Only it didn’t last.

Ianto just had time to enjoy the kissing, to hope that his body would recover quickly, when Jack pulled away and that anxious fear was back.

The Welshman wondered what caused it and realised he didn’t know how he ended up naked and in the bed of the Playroom at the Hub, which had had clean sheets.

Casting his mind back he could remember rescuing Jack and the others, the wonderful exchange of kisses that were inappropriate at the time but Ianto wouldn’t have stopped them.

He remembered getting to the TARDIS, meeting up with Mickey and following the others in... and now he was in bed with Jack.

“You don’t remember do you,” Jack said mildly as he lay down beside the Welshman.

“I remember rescuing you but not how I got here,” Ianto confessed, confused but for some reason not frightened.

“The TARDIS drew you to the console and opened herself so that you could look into her heart,” Jack told him his voice subdued by hear.

Ianto closed his eyes and tried to remember.  There were a few images, sensation but nothing tangible yet he knew.

“Something terrible is going to happen, it may have already begun.  She asked me to do something for her...”

“And you said yes,” Jack finished his voice numb.

“I can’t remember what she asked me, what she showed me but whatever it was it was important,” Ianto told his husband gently.

Jack’s hand rose and began to dance over Ianto’s side.  There was a lot of uncertainty in the movement and no teasing so the Welshman waited patiently,

“I really don’t want you to be part of all this anymore.  I want us to run away to our island; or better yet around the world as you’ve loaned Martha and Mickey our island,” Jack told him guiltily.

“I’d love that too,” Ianto replied sincerely.

“But you have to do this favour first,” Jack said.

“Yes,” Ianto said honestly.

“When are you leaving?” Jack asked coldly.

“I may not remember what passed between me and the TARDIS, but I would never want to go anywhere without you and she knows that,” Ianto said unable to keep the hurt from his voice as he turned away.

He knew too well the heartbreak of being the one left behind, he would never inflict that on the man he loved.

Jack’s hand gently but firmly moved Ianto’s chin so that he faced him but the Welshman couldn’t look him in the eye so cast his gaze down.

He looked up when Jack’s lips brushed his.  His husband’s eyes pleaded with him for forgiveness and Ianto granted it with a smile.

Then Jack’s lips were on his again with that wonderful possessive passion.  The Immortal pulled his arms back above his head and began ravishing Ianto’s neck and torso.

The Welshman moaned and hardened as his husband teased him.  He saw the Immortal reaching for the lube and his anticipation increased, it had been so long since Jack had been in him.

A slick hand encased his cock and Ianto felt disappointment.  Jack looked at him suddenly and the Welshman’s gaze moved from the hand to the Little Captain.

A wicked grin spread across the Immortal’s face. 

He leaned over to kiss Ianto, Jack’s tongue exploring every inch of his mouth, and the Welshman surrendered.

Jack then pulled back and immediately impaled himself on Ianto’s waiting shaft.

He didn’t move though.  Jack waited for Ianto to look at him, to see the challenge in his eyes.

As Ianto wasn’t getting the ravishing he wanted, he wasn’t going to let Jack have full charge anymore.  The Welshman sat up, going in deeper and began to thrust.

He understood Jack insistence on making love this way.  They wanted a child and Ianto knew how disappointed his husband was every time the tests results were negative.

Ianto could feel himself getting close and went to wrap his hand around the Little Captain.  Jack batted his and away and the Welshman knew exactly what caused that wicked grin.

Tonight they were both going to give each other what they wanted.

The wonder and love that thought produced in Ianto made him quicken his pace and come minutes later.

Jack lowered him gently then leapt off of him and sat between his husband’s legs before his aftershocks had finished.

Pure pleasure spasmed through Ianto as he felt a slick finger enter him and touch his prostate.

 The last stray thought before he became totally blissed was that it was going to take a while to open him because it had been so long.

The darkness of exhaustion was creeping in and he was too spent to harden again.  Ianto felt that his whole body was tingling with the need to touch Jack.

He barely noticed when the Immortal withdrew his fingers and replaced them with his cock.  Ianto realised that he’d done this only when Jack’s face loomed overhead, and he realised he could see his own legs.

Jack’s pace was hard and fast but Ianto didn’t mind.  He could feel another orgasm getting ready to wash over him.

Suddenly Ianto felt the urge to say something.  Usually their lovemaking was silent but he needed to speak.

“I...love...you,” Ianto panted between thrusts.

Jack came hard within him and Ianto felt himself climax.

Sleep overwhelmed him then, and he knew that he was going to have a good dream about Jack.  He hoped that it would come true.


	23. Chapter Twenty-three

Jack kissed Ianto, slipped from his husband’s sleeping body, gently lowered his legs and got out of the bed.  The Welshman immediately turned towards where he normally rested if he stayed.

That was a good sign, a sign that this was normal sleep because Ianto never naturally slept on his back.

Jack stepped back and peered at his husband fondly.  His back was bare and that perfect arse was half hidden by the sheets making him as sexy as hell.

The Immortal went to the next room and raided one of the cupboards that the Welshman had always kept well stocked.  He returned with canvas and painting supplies.

He studied the painting on the easel before putting it down.  There were some similarities in Ianto’s current pose but that was Torchwood’s Ianto and on the bed was his.

As the Immortal began the initial sketches of his new painting he regretted having upset his husband earlier; it was just...

He knew it was ridiculous, and he never thought of himself capable, but whenever Jack thought of the Doctor and Ianto together, _just travelling_ became more in his mind and filled him with jealousy.

In his whole existence, the Doctor and Ianto were the two men he had loved the most.

He had never regretted giving up the dream of being with the Time Lord for the reality of his Welshman.

Perhaps it was because he knew how wonderful, amazing and lovable Ianto was and how wild, crazy and brilliant the Doctor and his lifestyle could be, that he couldn’t get out of his head the idea that the two of them should leave him for each other.

Jack sometimes admitted that he could be quite the idiot.

In hurting Ianto, reminded him of a time before their marriage, a time when the Welshman was uncertain of Jack and his fear was that the Immortal would run off with the Time Lord.

Until they married, Ianto had never been able to understand why his marvellous fantastic Jack would give up the universe of space and time for an unassuming Archivist in Cardiff.

Ianto had chosen Jack a long time ago and the Immortal knew that he would never willingly leave unless the fate of someone he loved, or the planet, was at stake and then he would always want to return.

He was an idiot for ever thinking otherwise, it was just that lately Jack had been feeling really... inadequate.

After Jack decided that he really wanted to carry Ianto’s baby, the first obstacle was his contraceptive implant.  Fifty-first century contraceptive implants were organic, though not sentient, and tailored to be compatible with its host.  It got nutrients from his body and was designed to withstand cryogenic freezing, some radiations and the rigours of travelling using a vortex manipulator.

Jack’s contraceptive however had endured his many deaths and nearly two thousand years of life, his biggest fear was that when Rose brought him back all the way, she brought the contraceptive back with him.

They had to go to the Hub and see Martha to get the chemical and radiation treatments required to remove the contraceptive.  It was flushed from his body in hours and she scooped it into a jar for study.

They went back the next day so that she could do the first of two scans to check that Jack really was free of it.

Despite Martha’s pronouncement that there were no signs of the contraceptive re-growing, Jack couldn’t quite believe it.  He wanted to make sure that it was definitely gone.

That was when he did something really stupid.

Without speaking to Ianto, Jack snuck out of the house the next day, found a remote area where he wouldn’t be disturbed and shot himself in the head.

The warmth was waiting for him in death and he was drawn towards it as he always was these days.

When he returned his head was in Ianto’s lap.  Jack immediately began to apologise, began to tell his husband what he’d been thinking and saying sorry for not saying anything earlier.

Ianto said nothing; in fact he didn’t say anything for the rest of the week.

He took care of Jack, looked after him, made sure he had everything he needed, wore his black and diamond dog collar and made wild passionate love to him, but Ianto didn’t speak.

Even when he had to talk to someone else he would either talk in low whispers or move the conversation into the next room.

The silence was Jack’s punishment; everything else was because Ianto still loved him.

His husband started speaking again on the morning that they had to go and see Martha for the second set of scans.  Jack was grateful for that, he was really terrified that she would tell him it had grown back.

When Martha confirmed that he was still free of it he asked “How could it have survived?”  She looked away, steeling herself to give him some unpleasant news.

“I suspect it was a way for the Time Agency to keep the time lines clean but it didn’t just take nutrients from you while you were alive. 

“I’m afraid it was designed to eat you when you’re dead and because your body is renewed whether you are living or dead there was always...”

Jack never gave her a chance to finish that sentence; he was running out of the room and towards the nearest toilet to be violently sick.

It wasn’t just the knowledge that he had been eaten from within while he was dead, it was the fact that it was the final proof.

Jack’s first contraceptive had been given to him by the military.  He knew they would never have put something so vile within him because they knew the importance of a body for a family to bury.

The contraceptive he had just lost had to have been designed by the Time Agency, and the only way for him to have it was if the old one had been removed.

According to his official records he had never had the original one removed but Jack knew otherwise.  After all he remembered conceiving and given birth to a child that the Agency then erased from history.

Ianto found him and rubbed his back while he was sick.  Afterwards he gently took Jack home and took care of him.

This time though he wasn’t silent.  This time Ianto told Jack everything that had been going on for the past week that he had wanted to tell him about.

Jack loved Ianto so much, and that night he remembered why loving him was so easy.

A few weeks later, when Jack’s fertility cycles began to kick in, they started their baby making in earnest.

 Only so far no baby was made and Jack knew it was his fault.

Shortly after Ianto was dumped in Newport believing he was a bookseller with no memory of Jack or Torchwood, he went on an internet date.

The Torchwood Captain made sure date was with Gwen and she had to leave before the meal ended because of an alien invasion.

Jack felt his heart break when he realised that Ianto had immediately given up on the idea of ever having another relationship.  The proof was his visiting a sperm bank a week after the failed date.

He edited Ianto’s records at the sperm bank.  Jack erased all evidence of the Welshman’s altered DNA and second immune system and re-worded his application so that it was nearer the truth, and therefore more appealing.

Apart from seeing that Ianto was still free of disease and drugs, the only other thing that really interested Jack was the very impressive wiggler count.

The Immortal paused in his painting at the thought of Ianto’s healthy, strong wigglers swimming through him towards the prize.

If there was a prize for them to get.

 _It will happen_ , he could hear Ianto’s voice from the night before the Doctor arrived, remembered how he had put his hand over Jack’s on the Immortal’s stomach.

 _Sometimes a child is conceived instantly and sometimes it can take years_ , he reassured.

 _And sometimes it doesn’t happen at all_ , Jack had countered speaking his fear.

 _That won’t happen to us,_ Ianto told him firmly with absolute faith.  _The baby’s just waiting for the perfect moment_.

Jack looked up at his sleeping husband, serene and sexy with a little drool coming out of his mouth, and really hoped that he could give Ianto that perfect moment.

 


	24. Chapter Twenty-four

Jack had nearly finished the painting by the time Ianto woke.  The Welshman however barely twitched a muscle.

“Okay I’m finished,” the Immortal announced and his husband was up like a shot.

“Morning,” Ianto said with a swift kiss as he passed Jack during his dash to the bathroom.

A few minutes later Jack could hear the shower running, and because he could never resist a certain wet, naked Welshman, he hurried to join him.

A few teasing touches into the shower and Jack’s husband eyed him suspiciously.  A few more and Ianto was pushing him to face the wall, opening him and entering him.

They came together crying out each other’s names.  Then Ianto kissed his shoulder and withdrew.

The rest of the shower was more sedate and about getting clean.  Because they were in the playroom, the only clean clothes they had were left over from when they worked at Torchwood.

Jack admired his husband’s body while he dressed.  Ianto kept himself fit going for runs and using their private gym and swimming pool.

The sight of his Welshman in a suit made the Little Captain stir.

“Not now, the others are waiting for us,” Ianto said firmly as he read Jack exactly.

The Immortal pouted but the Welshman’s point was emphasised by the note on the opposite wall of the playroom door.

 

_Breakfast is ready and waiting in the Board Room._

_Please arrive promptly_

_and fully dressed_

_The Doctor_

 

The bit about being fully dressed was squashed in like an afterthought.  The idea of arriving in the board room naked appealed to Jack, but a raised eyebrow from Ianto said no.

They seemed to be the last to arrive because everyone else was with the Doctor; Gwen’s Torchwood team, Mickey and Martha, Rhys for some reason and Sergeant Eversleigh.

Jack noticed that Eversleigh and Marcus were holding hands under the table.

On the conference table was a feast; there were donuts, danishes, croissants and bread rolls with butter, jams and a selection of meats all served with tea.

Ianto immediately made a beeline for the coffee maker and began to brew.  Jack followed and wondered when coffee became such an erotic scent for him.

“Oi stop it, I’ve got something important I want to talk to you all about,” the Doctor said firmly.

Jack was about to pout but he saw Ianto smile his secretive smile.  He couldn’t help but feel good seeing that smile.

The Immortal kissed his husband on the cheek and headed to the table.  He grabbed a couple of plates and began to fill them, one for himself and the other for Ianto.

He sat down in one of two empty spaces next to each other and looked up and saw he was opposite Rhys.

“What are you doing here?” he asked curiously.

“I was only going to the Tourist Office entrance to see my wife to work, next thing I’m being grabbed by him and dragged down here to have breakfast,” Rhys replied indicating that it was the Doctor that shanghaied him.

“Okay let’s get started,” the Doctor said as Ianto appeared and began to distribute coffee amongst the worshipers.

“Just a minute before you start your presentation; Ianto how are you feeling?  Apart from satisfied,” Gwen asked as the Welshman sat down next to Jack.

“I’m fine, the TARDIS just wanted to ask me a favour but I don’t remember what it was,” Ianto replied.

“Whatever it was she was relieved that you said yes.  I’m sure when the time come you will remember what she asked,” the Doctor said reassuringly.

Ianto nodded and Jack reached under the table to put his hand on his husband’s thigh.  The Welshman gave him a reassuring smile before turning his attention politely to the Time Lord’s presentation.

“This is a photo of the Box of Oncreath when Torchwood originally uncovered it.  The TARDIS’ translator is letting you read the gold writing,” the Doctor said bringing a scanned image on screen.

“‘ _Beware; that which eats the soul lies in wait within_ ’; not very comforting,” Rhys commented.

“It gets worse as this is a picture of the box when we recovered it yesterday.  See all those silver moons have been cut into,” the Doctor said putting up a new image then quickly replacing it with the two versions together.

“Did you look inside?” Jack asked.

“I put the box in a containment chamber and opened it yes; there was nothing inside it but a residual energy trace.  Mickey do you know why Firebrand would cut open the box?” the Doctor said turning to his friend.

“Firebrand’s temporal disruptor had been ready for testing for a while they only needed a power source.  I’m smart enough to know that a temporal disruptor is not a good thing so I’ve been doing my best to sabotage their power supply,” Mickey answered then began to look thoughtful.

“I figured out why Firebrand took the risk of moving into the Torchwood Tower.  Partially it was because of the hole but you sealed that up tight.

“The other reason is that Director who had the Torchwood Tower built knew that there was a possibility that, with most of their eggs in one basket, you could show up.  So the Tower was built with the most sophisticated sensors Torchwood possessed and they were regularly enhanced. 

“There was enough time between Torchwood detecting your interference with the Ghost Shift signals and your arrival at the Tower for them to activate all those sensors and perform a very detailed scan,” Mickey said looking at the Doctor.

“They knew you were coming when I got there.  It wasn’t just a boast, those sensors told them you were coming days before you arrived,” Ianto said quietly, admonishing himself for not thinking of that.

Jack stroked Ianto’s leg under the table.  The Welshman put a hand on the Immortal’s and squeezed in it acceptance of the comfort.

“They shouldn’t have that technology,” the Time Lord said darkly.

“Torchwood has a lot of things it shouldn’t,” Gwen pointed out and the Doctor gave her a quick smile.

“I mentioned it because the day they began cutting into that box is the day the sensors detected your imminent arrival,” Mickey told them.

The Time Lord was up instantly.  He whipped out his sonic screwdriver and began to scan Mickey.  He then turned it on Ianto, Eversleigh, Gwen and Jack.  He then turned on Rhys, Martha and the rest of the new Torchwood team.

Once he finished and checked the results he returned to his chair with a slump of relief.

“There are no traces of the alien energy on any of you,” the Doctor said in relief.

“You think the eater of souls might have tried to get us?” Rhys asked sceptically.

“I know you’ve all been busy getting re-acquainted, and acquainted, and saving Cardiff from aliens, so you probably have no idea what’s been happening in London,” the Doctor said gravely.

 

 


	25. Chapter Twenty-five

“Across the country for the last five nights there have been an alarming number of disappearances reported to the police.  People who work late at night in and around Canary Wharf have not been coming home.

“The area affected by disappearances has been increasing.  However, when police investigated their place of work, they found all those who have been reported missing alive and well.

“Those reported missing all claimed to be fine only very busy, however colleagues who only worked during the day said that their late night co-workers were acting strangely and none of them have as yet gone home.

“Today however, there seemed to be no communication coming in or out of the business district and we heard reports last night that commuters who travelled late at night through the isle of dogs have also not returned home.

“We had hoped to give you a report from our crime correspondent, Samantha Haines however she has not come out of 1 Canada Square since she entered it this morning.

“Footage we received before she entered the building showed a steady stream of people entering the buildings, however thirty percent of the people who showed up for work today just turned around before they got to the door and went back home.

“We have this interview from before Samantha Haines disappeared.”

The newscaster and the stock footage of people rushing around Canary Wharf disappeared and a smart looking young woman appeared and halted a middle-aged business man.

“Excuse me, excuse me,” Samantha Haines called out.

“I’m sorry I have to go,” the business man told her trying to get away.

“Please I’m reporting on the people who have been working late and not going home.  Today there are people like yourself who are showing up and turning around can you tell me why?”

“I’ve worked here since they moved my office here nearly ten years ago.  I’ve never had a problem with them, hardly ever had a day sick.

“Today I’ve finally realised how evil they are.  Please I can’t stay in their shadows you should leave before they take your soul too,” he said and rushed off.”

The footage cut off and the image returned to the newscaster.

“Police have cordoned off and evacuated the area around the Isle of Dogs and are considering widening the quarantined area.  They’re urging people not be in the area late at night and big businesses have begun contingency plans to function without their UK headquarters....”

The Doctor turned the newsfeed off and turned to the room.  The Time Lord noticed that Martha, Jack and Marcus all moved closer to their respective partners.

Ianto, Mickey and Eversleigh all began reassuring them that they were fine, the same as they ever were.  Jack grabbed his husband, dragged him to the little alcove where the coffeemaker was and began to kiss him.

They returned a minute later with Ianto looking flushed and Jack looking relieved.

“Definitely the genuine article and nothing at all wrong with him,” the Immortal announced.

“I used your computers to break into the police reports on those who didn’t go home, there were distinct character changes and some lack of co-ordination.

“One thing most of the police reported was a lack of any emotional concern, none of the disappearance victims cared about what their loved ones or colleagues thought or had been going through.

“My scan this morning was just a double check, but given what most of you probably did last night, I think it’s safe to say you escaped being infected,” the Doctor told them, looking slightly awkward.

“Have you ever encountered anything like this before?” Gwen asked.

“The energy readings I got from the Box of Oncreath are unlike anything I have ever encountered.  They are not a natural energy and yet...” the Doctor began.

“Yet?” Martha prompted.

“Talk of evil presences does rather suggest sentience.  The fact that the first disappearances happened at night suggests intelligence and a plan, one that is now escalating.”

“We have to go back to London and stop this,” Ianto said looking at Jack.

Jack pulled his husband back into the alcove.  There was a whispered discussion for a few more minutes then they hugged and kissed before the two of them returned.

“Ianto’s right we’re going to have to go to London to sort this out but you’re not going back in the TARDIS,” the Immortal said firmly.

“Then we fly there.  We also need to warn Major Brandan’s team,” Ianto said smoothly taking Jack’s hand and brushing it reassuringly.

 “Fine by me; Gwen, will your team be joining us or staying behind to look after Cardiff?” Jack snapped, he was clearly not completely happy with Ianto’s insistence that he come with them.

 “My TARDIS is taking the opportunity while here to refuel, that should make the Rift less active,” the Doctor volunteered.

He didn't really want to leave the TARDIS behind but she had taken that decision out of his hands.  The Time Lord never thought he would be grateful for Jack’s jealous protectiveness before, but it meant he didn’t have to tell them that she wasn’t working because she didn’t want him to go.

“I can confirm that.  We used the remote access to monitor the Rift last night because of your warning but there’s been no activity,” Sam Llewellyn confirmed.

“Warning?” the Doctor asked.

“Please last night’s hardly the first time those two have loved up Cardiff.  We’re getting a reputation as a city to visit if your relationship is on the rocks.  One weekend here and you know of its still love or if it’s time to end it,” Gwen replied smiling at Jack and Ianto while leaning towards Rhys.

“You don’t transmit all the time do you?” the Doctor asked Ianto with concern.

“No they don’t just every now and then.  The problem is that with BBC Wales producing more TV shows, there are more celebrities coming to Cardiff and getting caught up in the love, and of course they get interviewed about their relationships and the rumours start from there,” Gwen said reassuringly.

“Ah,” said the Doctor in understanding.

“So as your TARDIS is guarding the Rift, I think that all of us should go.  If this is something new to you then we need all the help and ideas we can,” Gwen said.

“Agreed but we have to stick together.  We may not know the source but we all know about aliens taking over people’s minds, best if we all stick together,” Jack said casting an uncertain gaze at Ianto.

The Welshman put his arm around his husband and smiled reassuringly.

“Okay so how are we going to get there without the TARDIS?  You mentioned something about flying but there’s no way we’ll all be able to get tickets at short notice, especially if they decide to put up a no fly zone,” Mickey pointed out.

“Who said anything about travelling commercial?” Jack said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye and he pulled out his phone and dialled.

“Georgie its Jack Harnkess-Jones, how soon before she’s ready for takeoff?” he asked then listened for a few minutes.

“Okay see you then,” Jack said before hanging up.

“Our flight will be ready in two hours,” Jack told them grinning like a naughty child.

 

 


	26. Chapter Twenty-six

They stood staring at the large black plane.  It had Torchwood stencilled in dark grey on the side and the back opened so that they could fit three SUV’s inside.

“The ‘ _Cloud Queen’_ , it was the first thing I bought when I became the leader of Torchwood Three.  Back then I had no intention of spending my budget on other staff so I got a plane.

“Of course beyond the paint job and modifying it to that the hold could accommodate a small space craft I didn’t really do much with it.  It was Tosh and Suzie who really kitted out the inside,” Jack told them.

They moved out of the cargo bay and entered a medical bay.  There were two fixed gurneys and two movable ones with enough equipment for a small field hospital.

From there they passed though a small galley section and then into a section full of seats like a normal plane only a third of the number of seats you would expect giving plenty of leg room.

Jack led them through the seating area and into another that looked a bit like the back of the Torchwood SUV.  There were less chairs but plenty of consoles and scanning monitors, everything you could need for a mobile field unit.

“Wow,” Gwen said slightly shocked.  The only ones unfazed by the ‘ _Cloud Queen_ ’ were Ianto and the Doctor.

“So who’s going to fly this crazy piece of kit?” Mickey asked after they had explored the equipment more thoroughly.

“I am,” Jack replied heading for the cockpit.

“You can’t be serious, Ianto...” Gwen stopped when she realised that the Welshman had appropriated a console and was strapping himself in.

“I thought you would have wanted to join your husband seeing as he’s flying,” Martha teased and Jack stopped on the threshold, turning to look at the man he loved.

“I’m not fond of flying at the best of times, but the last thing we need is for Jack to decide I’m getting anxious and need to be given a blow job to calm me down, we’ll end up in Manchester,” Ianto deadpanned but his eyes sparkled with mischief.

Jack grinned at them and turned into the cock pit.

As he began his pre-flight checks Jack’s mind wandered to the conversation he and Ianto had had this morning. 

He had bundled his husband into the alcove where the coffee maker was hoping to talk sense into him but he never had the chance as Ianto pressed a finger to his lips.

“It isn’t a coincidence,” the Welshman said looking at him with those compelling blue eyes.

“Whatever this favour the TARDIS has asked of me is, I have to go to London to fulfil it, I can feel it.  I know you don’t want me to go, I know you want me to be safe and for any other mission I might agree with you, and I’m sorry, but for this one I have to go,” Ianto said quietly.

Jack couldn’t say anything, every instinct said to argue, to insist that Ianto stay behind.  Instead he wrapped his arms around his husband knowing that silent support was better than an alienating argument.

As the Welshman pressed his body into the Immortal’s it began to tremble slightly and in a way that had nothing to do with Jack’s amazing presence.

He was glad he kept silent because now he knew that Ianto really didn’t want to go, but his compassion and duty compelled him, just as they had compelled him to rescue Eversleigh and then the rest of them from the Torchwood Tower.

“You know if you keep fantasising about your husband we’ll never get to Manchester,” the Doctor said interrupting the memory before it got to the kiss and sitting down in the co-pilot’s seat.

The Time Lord swiftly strapped himself in and his fingers hovered over the controls, itching to move those extra centimetres and start touching them.

“Well kids I hope you’re all strapped in because we’re ready to take off,” Jack said slapping the Doctor’s hand away from some switches.

Jack didn’t say another word until they were twenty minutes into the flight.  It wasn’t that he had to be super-focused, not after take-off but because he wasn’t ready to speak to the Time Lord.

“I wasn’t fantasising over Ianto, I was worrying,” Jack informed him.

“And what does he think of all your worrying?” the Time Lord asked.

“He finds it adorable,” the Immortal declared outrageously.

A quick glance across and Jack saw the raised eyebrows of scepticism. 

It amused Jack that for all that the Doctor had lived a long life, compared to Ianto, he was still quite an amateur in the fine art of eyebrow communication, despite his story about being able to speak Delphon.

“Alright he puts up with it because he’s wonderful and he loves me, but he doesn’t always let me get away with it, not when it’s important or I’m being daft,” Jack confessed.

“Jack your husband is more than capable of looking after himself and all of us, while giving Ogrons lessons in etiquette,” the Doctor said sagely.

“Yes he is,” Jack said with pride.

“It’s what the TARDIS asked him to do that’s worrying you,” the Doctor said quietly after a few minutes.

Jack said nothing at first.  He loved the Doctor’s craft almost as much as the man himself, despite the barrier of what he had become, he still trusted her, but this was his Ianto.

“Why Ianto?” Jack asked his voice barely audible above the engines.

“There are many fabulous qualities that Ianto possesses, but the only logical reason I can think of for singling him out is that whatever it is the TARDIS wants, he will be the only one in the position to grant,” the Doctor said cautiously.

“Ianto wouldn’t even be coming with us to London if she hadn’t got at him,” Jack pointed out nastily.

“This isn’t just about where he is; it’s about who he is.  Ianto is the right person and now she’s made sure he’s in the right place at the right time,” the Doctor said with a sigh.

“If anything happens to him I will never forgive either of you,” the Immortal said firmly.

“And I wouldn’t blame you,” the Doctor acknowledged.

Silence continued for a while before the Doctor unstrapped himself and headed towards the rear of the plane.  Jack had no doubt that he was going to inspect and tinker with the sensors.

With the Time Lord gone the Immortal felt himself relax and began to enjoy the thrills of flying.

Despite the other’s worry, he was a fully qualified and licensed pilot, not just from the 1940’s but right now with this plane.

Before when he worked for Torchwood petty things like flying and driving licences didn’t bother him.  Since his marriage to Ianto though he had the urge to have everything all legal and proper.

Ianto had helped by arranging for UNIT to give him refresher courses in the latest air and sea craft before his tests.

He could still remember the stunned look on Ianto’s face when he came home with the news that he’d passed his driving test first time.

Jack really hoped that his husband didn’t know that he’d gotten lessons from Rhys, as the most normal everyday driver he knew.  That was also why he’d gotten a licence to drive heavy goods vehicles.

The Immortal’s mind was just about to wander into a remembrance involving getting Ianto to pull their lorry over into a lay-by for a quick shag because he looked irresistible in his overalls, when he spotted the black cloud.

Jack had lived in Cardiff long enough to know a great deal about the varieties of rain that existed.  This cloud was not in any way grey, it was pure black, like it was sucking in the light.

“Doctor,” he yelled out not liking the cloud at all.

He heard the rush footsteps approaching and the sound of the Time Lord’s intake of breath when the black lightning struck the ground.

The Doctor rushed to the co-pilot’s seat immediately.  He pressed a few buttons and out came a console that would relay all the information from the sensors.

Jack heard the sonic screwdriver whirring.

“It’s giving off the same energy readings that I picked up from the Box of Oncreath.  I don’t think we should get any closer,” the Doctor said unnecessarily as Jack was already turning.

As the plane banked they both realised how huge the cloud was and it was heading straight for them.


	27. Chapter Twenty-seven

“What the...” Jack cried out and the plane shuddered slightly.

“It’s coming from us,” the Doctor said as he looked at the energy beam that was shooting out from beneath them towards the cloud.

The Time Lord looked at the readings then out at the cloud.  Visually he could see something breaking up but the energy readings didn’t seem to be changing, then suddenly they spiked.

A hideous shriek filled the cockpit for a few seconds as they saw black lightning strike the earth.

Then the cloud was gone.

“Gotcha,” Mickey’s voice called triumphantly over the comms.

“What was that?” the Time Lord demanded.

“Bit of tech I reckon was scavenged from Torchwood One; it’s an alien weather changer.  I studied it at One and in the other universe, used it to break up the cloud,” Mickey explained.

“Do you know how dangerous that could be to the environment,” the Doctor admonished.

“Yes which is why I set it for short term cloud dispersal, it should reform again in a few hours and continue what it was doing but it will be dark by then, proper dark,” Mickey replied.

“In that case well done Mickey Mouse,” Jack said returning the plane to its original course.

“Have you seen these readings?” Martha said drawing the Doctor’s attention to the console in front of him.

“The ones we got during the black lightning look very similar to some I’d seen while I was working on Project Indigo,” Martha said.

Checking the readings for himself the Time Lord could see that she was right.  The black cloud had readings like those from the box, but the lightning had readings like those of a teleport. 

Now there was nothing ahead but normal sky.

“Your weather changer didn’t affect the Oncreath energy only the cloud like it was supposed to.  Whatever this energy is, it used the storm as cover to get into the atmosphere, the lightning was a teleport back to Earth but why?” the Doctor said almost to himself.

“Spreading its influence,” Gwen suggested darkly.  “With the police quarantine there are no more people going to the Isle of Dogs, so it used the storm as a disguise to plant seeds outside the quarantine.”

An ominous silence followed Gwen’s suggestion.  They could remember the Oncreath’s warning, ‘ _Beware; that which eats the soul lies in wait within_ ’.

The Doctor turned back to the console in front of him and began analysing the scans; he wasn’t going to give in to a mysterious fear, not after over nine hundred years.

“How you doing back there Ianto?” Jack asked his voice cheerful but the Doctor picked up a hint of worry.

“Ianto?” he said more worried when his husband didn’t answer.

“I’m okay, sorry.  I was just wishing that Torchwood hadn’t gotten rid of its own private railway,” Ianto said a little nervously himself and Jack relaxed.

“I wouldn’t have thought that was a wise idea we would have ended up right in the middle of the energy’s influence,” Jane said confused.

“Torchwood’s private railway was built in the Victorian era a century before they built the Torchwood Tower,” Ianto informed her gently.

“Yeah I remember when the whole area was nothing but docks.  Great place to pick up sailors and stevedores,” Jack said with wicked smile on his face.

 “Torchwood London was original quite spread out over the city; the private railway terminal is actually deep under the Bank-Monument underground complex.  If it was still there today no one would ever notice if we transported aliens to the Northern Line during the rush hour,” Ianto said ignoring Jack’s attempt to tease.

“I don’t know they might be noticed if they were being less rude than the usual commuters,” Mickey added.

“You know your theory doesn’t quite fit with these readings Gwen,” the Doctor said thoughtfully.

“How?” Jack asked.

“The majority of the energy returned to the buildings around the Torchwood Tower where we know the effected people are gathering.  There were six strikes were outside of the Isle of Dogs, but I’m picking up very faint traces there now. 

“Of course we could be too far away to get proper readings,” the Time Lord replied.

“So why go to the trouble of going into the clouds if it wasn’t going to spread further than six locations?”  Gwen asked.

“Why go up and come back down at the first hint that your camouflage is disappearing?” the Doctor added still bothered by why it just ran.

“Because the great evil isn’t strong enough so it’s hiding, not enough city worker’s souls for it to feed on but it wants us, it wants to consume us all,” Chris Sanders’s voice sounded slightly hysterical over the comms.

“Thanks mate that’s cheered us all right up that has,” the Doctor could just about here Rhys say but then he wasn’t wearing an earpiece, he wasn’t even meant to be aboard.

“Sorry it’s just that as the cloud approached I felt as though something were searching for me.  That time when we were being hunted and stalked by Nogari it felt a bit like that only more malevolent,” the linguist said apologetically.

“You shouldn’t apologise you’re not the only one who felt like that.  I’ve seen terrifying stuff but that cloud, it looked almost everyday but I could feel...” Martha stopped talking and gave a shudder.

“It’s also not just us.  I’m getting reports of mass panic, people around the quarantine and the areas where the black lightning struck and streaming out to the city.

“The problem is that the areas struck were Waterloo, Paddington, Victoria, London Bridge, St Pancreas and Liverpool Street stations.  Six of the biggest terminals for commuters leaving the city,” Ianto informed them.

“Warn Major Brandan and the police.  We’re going to have to evacuate more of the city and stop people going into those stations and try to stop them from leaving too,” Jack said sadly.

“I’m already on it,” Ianto said and Jack smiled.

“I’ve just thought of something; if Chris is right then at the moment its hiding but it spreads at night and during the storm.  That means we have to find somewhere in London to be while we get clearer readings and hope that it doesn’t notice us and decides to have a snack,” Jane said with panicking concern.

“In the dark you can’t see the evil creep,” Chris said ominously then added, “Sorry.”

“He’s right we’ll be exposed,” Gwen pointed out.

“Well being undercover didn’t really help those in those train stations,” Jane snapped.

“They all have glass roofs,” Martha said quietly.

“What?”

“Look I visited every one of those stations when I was an intern and they all have glass roofs.  Euston is the busiest terminal in London for trains going north but it wasn’t struck, it doesn’t have a glass roof it was demolished in the sixties,” Martha explained.

“That was a period of great architectural travesty,” the Doctor replied absently as he briefly remembered the beautiful stone archway and the triangular glass ceiling he’d seen while chasing a Helarim through Euston Station in 1931 with Mel.

“The Box of Oncreath was made of stone,” Sam said quietly.

“We should investigate the lightning strike at Liverpool Street, it’s near the old banking district, lots of stone buildings and churches nearby,” Mickey said.

“We can discuss all of this when we hook up with Major Brandan, she’d waiting for us at the airport,” Ianto told them.

“Good because we’re coming in to land, I hope you’re all strapped in,” Jack said nudging the Doctor.

The Time Lord hastily did up his seatbelt.  He’d only half been listening to the others conversation. 

Since Chris had spoken the words he couldn’t shake the feeling that the black cloud, the energy from the Box on Oncreath, was indeed evil, but that was such an irrational reaction and not like him at all. 

The Doctor was also still bothered by way it fled from Mickey’s cloud dispersal.  The weather changer should have had no effect on the energy at all; it should have continued to pretend to be a cloud and consumed them, so why did it just go?

Deep in his hearts the Time Lord was beginning to feel certain that he’d led his friends into a trap.

 


	28. Chapter Twenty-eight

Ianto Jones closed his eyes as the plane landed and tried not to think about the incident with the black cloud.

It wasn’t that he found the unnaturally dark cloud anymore terrifying than the others, quite the opposite in fact, which was why he was a little uncertain about what exactly happened.

He remembered seeing the dark cloud on his screen seconds before Jack yelled for the Doctor to return to the cockpit, and he remembered wishing that Torchwood still had its secret railway.

Then the cloud was gone and he could hear the others were discussing Mickey’s use of an alien weather changer, and the fact that there had been lightning strikes that looked like teleport signatures.

When Jack asked if he was alright, Ianto mentioned the Torchwood Railway because that was the most coherent thing in his head, though he had already begun to create programs to locate the sights of the lightning strikes.

He looked at the others, Chris still looked visibly shaken and the others were all giving signs that they were recovering from an encounter with something terrible.

Anyone in his position could easily put the memory gap down to being afraid, to the possibility that the cloud’s presence filled him with terror he didn’t want to remember.

There was the problem though; Ianto didn’t feel the least bit afraid.  Yes, he had sensed an evil presence, probably stronger than Chris had, yet he hadn’t felt frightened.  

He didn’t see the cloud as something unknown yet he’d never encountered such a thing before.

The scent of Jack’s pheromones heralded his husband’s arrival and brushed Ianto’s puzzled thoughts about the cloud aside.

Hastily he undid his seatbelt and stood.

Ianto barely had a moment to realise that, despite having sat for over an hour his joints didn’t feel stiff and the blood hadn’t rushed to his head, before Jack engulfed him in a hug with searing kiss.

The Welshman clung tightly to his husband.  With Jack’s wonderful lips on his, Ianto’s worries about the black cloud and the memory gap became trivial.

 _I’ve forgotten what happened because I was afraid like everyone else_ , Ianto thought as Jack’s hands roamed his body making sure everything was as it should be.

“Oh get a room will ya,” Rhys groaned and Jack broke away from him.

“Rhys what are you doing here?” the Immortal said in total surprise.

Ianto carefully hid his smile as Gwen started yelling at Jack; he was glad that his husband’s arm was still around his waist but unsure about the hand sliding towards his arse.

Of all those at the Doctor’s breakfast conference, Rhys was the only who wasn’t meant to go to London.

However, despite there being enough room for all of them in the three SUV’s there wasn’t enough room for all of the equipment they wanted to take as well.

Rhys had volunteered to take some of the equipment and his wife to the airport, then once everything was aboard he was to leave and wave them off.

Only they had barely secured the last of the equipment before Jack started closing the doors and announcing that they were going to take off.

With Rhys trapped in with them they immediately tried their comms, only to find they didn’t work and the door to the cockpit was sealed. 

It turned out that Tosh and Suzie hadn’t worked on the ‘Cloud Queen’ since before Ianto joined and the comms system had been changed five times since then making the two systems incompatible.

Rhys was forced to strap himself in at the last minute while Sam worked on the problem so that they could talk to each other later.

The Doctor had obviously been too busy with the black cloud to fill Jack in on the consequences of his hasty actions.

“Are you okay?” Jack asked bringing Ianto back to the present now that Gwen and Rhys had stormed off.

“Yes I’m fine, it was a bit tense back there,” Ianto answered as Jack turned and pressed his body back into his husband’s.

Jack kissed him slowly and Ianto couldn’t help pushing himself closer; then hastily pulled back.

“If you keep that up it’s going to be a bit tense here too,” Ianto said breathily.

Jack grinned wickedly and leaned in for another kiss.

“Right now shall we go and meet Major Brandan,” the Doctor said placing a hand on each of their shoulders, breaking them apart.

The Doctor steered them towards the door, behind the Time Lord’s back the two husbands reached out and held hands.

As they exited the plane the Doctor moved ahead and Jack wasted no time letting go of Ianto’s hand and wrapping an arm around him instead.

Major Brandon greeted the Doctor and Jack with a salute, which the former acknowledged grudgingly and the latter formally.

“Sergeant Eversleigh?” she half asked as her missing man came into view, his arm draped over Marcus.

The UNIT soldiers swiftly moved away from each other and stiffened to attention.  Brandan sighed and acknowledged their salutes.

“Another good man lost to Torchwood,” she said shaking her head.

“What can I say, sexy Torchwood Archivists, you’ve got to grab them while you can,” Jack said brightly though the last part was spoken huskily into the Welshman’s ear.

Ianto felt himself blushing and Brandon did not look impressed.  She refrained from pointing out that Marcus had also been a UNIT Corporal before the Torchwood Archives lured him away.

Instead Brandan instructed them to follow her into UNIT’s temporary headquarters at the ExCel Exhibition Centre. 

Jack followed the convoy in the first SUV and Ianto sat beside him, watching his husband unselfconsciously.  Focusing on the Immortal’s beauty was better to him than worrying about memory gaps.

 Over the comms they could hear Sam giving instructions on how to download the ‘ _Cloud Queen’_ ’s sensor readings and add it to UNIT’s database. 

Brandon explained that she had commandeered several of the exhibition halls.  Several of them were now dedicated solely to the collation data from the six railway stations and the Isle of Dogs.

“The British Transport Police have released the CCTV footage from inside the stations hit by the Black Lightning.  They also finally gave us the images from the Jubilee Line and DLR from last night,” she said as they walked up to a large set of screens in the main hall and nodded to one of her technicians.

“These images are from inside Paddington Station,” she said sadly.

On the screen people looked up as the shadow over them got darker.  The CCTV didn’t capture what happened to the ceiling but they could see blackness like smoke coming down.

Long before the concourse was engulfed in darkness, people started to panic and head for trains, the underground and the exit.  Within minutes there was nothing visible on the screen, everything was black then the feed cut out.

“We stopped the trains that left at the next stop.  Those at the front of the train were unaffected, some at the back however exhibited the same zombie like state as the police reported in the earlier cases.

“We’re having them send over to the Mile End Stadium where we are going to examine them, though they weren’t happy and had to be tranquilised.

“Those who escaped though the underground were unaffected and we managed to stop more trains going in and out.  Some of those who left through the normal exits stayed behind to stop people going in before the police arrived,” Brandan said with a touch of pride and admiration.

She turned to the technician and signalled for the next set of images.

“These are the images from the Jubilee Line last night,” she said solemnly.

They were from the inside of one of the carriages.  Darkness seemed to pour in through the glass and there was instant mass panic inside.

The screen went dark and then, as swiftly as it arrived, the dark cloud withdrew.

All of the passengers were now sitting quietly and expressionlessly in their seats.  They all got out at the next station in orderly formation.

New passengers boarded and continued the journey unmolested by black clouds.  The CCTV footage then went to the ticket hall where the affected passengers calmly exited the station.

Camera imaged followed them as they returned to Canada Square and entered one of the high rises affected by the black clouds.

“The drivers were the only ones not to disembark.  They continued on their routes as normal until the end of their shifts.  Then they too made their way back to the Isle of Dogs,” Brandan said looking hopefully at the Doctor.

“I’d like to look at the affected but I think that’s a job best left until the morning.  Tell your people to secure them tight inside that stadium and evacuate the area; we don’t want to risk your soldiers being exposed by proximity at night.

“I want a closer look at one of those stations before we go any further.  I’m going to follow your suggestion Mickey, we’re going to visit Liverpool Street and get some more readings,” the Doctor said gleefully.

Ianto nodded in agreement then wondered why it was so important.

 

 


	29. Chapter Twenty-nine

Jack was trying very hard not to be concerned as he sat next to Ianto in the SUV. 

His husband was driving them through London to Liverpool Street Station with a look of deep concentration on his face.

The streets were eerily deserted and Ianto was taking full advantage by ignoring all the local road signs and traffic laws, as they belted the wrong way down several one way streets at an unusually high speed for him.

However Ianto’s unusual driving was not what was bothering Jack. 

He was actually quite enjoying going that fast, though Gwen in the back was not having fun, nor were Mickey and Martha who were following in a UNIT jeep with the equipment and having to keep up.

The Doctor was so engrossed in the readings and reports coming from UNIT that he didn’t seem to notice, not even when the Welshman swerved the car violently.

No something was up with Ianto himself. 

As soon as the plane touched down Jack opened his senses and reached for Ianto.  He had closed them off while he flew because he didn’t want to be distracted by his husband’s phobia.

Yet as he touched Ianto’s mind he knew something was wrong, something was worrying the Welshman, confusing him and Jack didn’t like it.

As soon as he appeared though Ianto shoved his worries aside, the passionate response to the kiss was reassuring, while the fact that his husband was trying to ignore whatever had troubled him did the opposite.

Jack decided to keep what he felt to himself, he didn’t want to antagonise or worry Ianto further and knew that, when he was ready, his husband would tell him what it was.

The Welshman’s worries were not the only problem, Jack knew there was something wrong with Ianto himself, something he wasn’t sure his husband was aware of.

Ianto’s mind was racing.

His gorgeous husband had always had a quick mind; he was great at metal arithmetic as well as having a brilliant memory.

Right now though he was sure it was working overtime, and he wasn’t just talking about the rapid driving through London with the same ease as a Forty-Third Century space fighter pilot.

Jack was certain that if asked, Ianto would be able to recall everything on Brandan’s situation screens, most of which he had barely glanced at.

He knew because of some of the points Ianto had made involved UNIT’s situation and resources.  Jack hadn’t known where his husband had gotten the information from but Brandon’s people were able to answer his questions, pointing after consulting their screens.

Jack was certain that Ianto’s brain needed to slow down soon or it would overload.  The problem was that they were heading into danger and there was no time for the Welshman to slow down.

Of course the fact that they were heading into danger was Ianto’s fault.

Jack had always relied on Ianto to be the more sensible, common sense person in their relationship; yet the Immortal was the one who understood Brandan’s argument that going to Liverpool Street Station now, when it would be dark in a few hours, not to mention the delayed storm due, was not a good idea, and his husband didn’t.

In fact for every objection Brandan made to the Doctor’s plans Ianto persuaded her otherwise and altered the plan to get it done.  The Welshman’s eagerness to go was so unlike him that it frightened the Immortal a little.

Ianto slowed the car down and Jack looked up to see that they were stopping outside the white stone façade of Liverpool Street Station.

“Oh we’re here good,” the Doctor said finally looking up from the monitors and getting out of the SUV.

Gwen jumped out with him and began to help the Time Lord unload the sensors that they were going to place around the station.

“You don’t have to worry I won’t let anything harm any of you, I promise,” Ianto said gently taking Jack’s hand.

“Isn’t that supposed to be my line?” Jack asked unable to put any humour into his voice.

“I’m sorry Jack, but not this time,” Ianto said sadly and leaned over to kiss him.

Then he shook himself, Jack could feel a shift in the way he was thinking as Ianto dismissed what he’d just said and switched to his professional mode.

Jack followed Ianto out of the car and watched him closely.  The Welshman helped the Doctor and Mickey setting up the sensors which he, Gwen and Martha then put in place.

The station was large and they had to move their cars a few times because it was too far to lug the equipment safely.

He noticed that Mickey was watching the sky.  Being summer meant that the nights would draw in later, but he knew his friend was worried about the storm he had delayed.

He could see the clouds forming and shared a look with his friend.

“I think we should get going, the storm will be back soon,” Jack said as they were setting up the last sensor.

“Just a few more adjustments,” the Doctor told him.

“I don’t think we have time,” Martha said her voice full of dread.

Jack looked up and saw what looked like dark smoke rising out of the roof of the station.

“Run,” he ordered and grabbed Ianto’s hand as they all headed for the SUV’s.

Ianto suddenly jerked to a stop disorientating Jack for a moment.

“Not that way, this way,” he called and pulled his husband in a different direction.

Jack looked back and saw that the others had halted at the command, confused.  Then he saw the black cloud rising on the other side of the SUV.

“Come on run,” Jack shouted as they spotted the cloud cutting off their access to the vehicles.

Ianto dragged Jack through the streets until the Immortal was satisfied that the others were following.  The Welshman kept a fast pace but not as fast as they were capable of, he didn’t want to lose the slower members of their group.

They headed west, though every now and then Ianto would turn away into a side street but he always returned to going in the same direction.  It wasn’t a random, panicked flight, his husband had a definite destination in mind.

When he spotted the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral Jack knew exactly where they were going.

It was a tiring run, and with every glance back the Immortal could see the black cloud gaining on them.  The Welshman was doing his best to make sure they outran it but Jack didn’t think it would be enough and they were tiring.

They just reached the square in front of the cathedral when Jack heard the “Ooph” and the sound of a person hitting the pavement.

He stopped and turned, unconsciously letting go of Ianto’s hand, and saw that Gwen had tripped.

The Doctor turned back to help her up but the black cloud was descending on them.


	30. Chapter Thirty

The Doctor started to pull Gwen up as the insidious black cloud reached out for her.  He finally felt the evil the others had complained about.

It was worse than the Vasta Norada.  They only ate you.  They didn’t steal your soul.

He got Gwen to her feet but knew it was too late and he wasn’t ready to die, not when there was so much he still wanted to do.

Light shot over their heads and the smoke backed way. 

Another light followed, then another.  Blue bolts of light like the futuristic gunfire from an old science fiction movie drove the darkness away.

The Blackness fled further back as the lights began to weave a mesh between them and the perusing smoke.  The Doctor marvelled at the beauty of it for a moment before turning to see what caused it.

Ianto Harkness-Jones stood utterly still, his skin a pearlescent with light, his blue eyes silver.  The light flowed from him, pulsed out from his heart.

He was heartbreakingly beautiful, his face expressionless.  Jack just stared at his husband looking utterly devastated.

The Doctor moved closer and Ianto turned, gestured for them to go to the Cathedral which was bathed in the light he was producing.

The Time Lord got out his sonic screwdriver and scanned the Welshman.  The readings were what he thought they would be but they were still a surprise.

He recognised the legend, guessed when he saw the light emerging and now he understood what the dark cloud was, what Jojar’s secret was.

“We have to go into the Cathedral,” the Doctor said gently to Jack.

“No,” Jack roared and punched the Time Lord.

“You’re TARDIS did this,” Jack shouted angrily.

“No this is something far older.  Ianto wants us to go into the Cathedral,” the Doctor insisted trying not to react to the pain and the hurt he felt at Jack’s accusation.

He gestured to Mickey to help him but it took all of them to drag Jack away.  After they had gone a foot, Ianto stepped after them.

“See he’s coming with us but we have to go inside,” the Doctor said after the luminescent Welshman took a second step.

Jack sagged and stopped resisting so they let him go and made their way up the Cathedral steps.

“Why is he so insistent that we come here? Martha asked.

“Because hopefully Rhys is inside, Ianto told Marcus and Eversleigh to bring him here.  If your TARDIS isn’t responsible, then she must have warned him and Ianto’s always been very fond of St. Paul’s, it was built by deception,” Jack explained walking crabwise up the steps so that he could quickly look from his husband to where he was going.

The web of light contracted the closer they got to the Cathedral.  Once they were all inside the doors closed by themselves behind the Welshman.

A few more lights left Ianto Harkness-Jones then the glow within him faded. 

Ianto gasped in the same manner as his Immortal husband when he returned to life and the Doctor saw a tear roll down Jack’s cheek.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to,” Ianto said looking straight at the Time Lord.  “I was told when I was given my birthday present that I wasn’t to use it, never use it, too dangerous, keep it secret and safe.  I’m sorry I didn’t mean to use it.”

“You didn’t use it Ianto, it used you, it did what it was supposed to do,” the Doctor said trying to reassure but the Welshman had already turned to Jack and started to cry.

“Sorry I didn’t mean not to tell you, but I thought it was just a game, just a game I played with my best friend.  I didn’t know what it was, just to keep it safe never to use and then I stopped believing I had been given anything at all.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Ianto kept repeating moving away from them to the door.

Jack was crying too, he was trying to say something but couldn’t seem to form the words.  Ianto kept apologising over and over for using it, for not telling Jack.

The Doctor had never seen the Welshman like this.  Ianto Harkness-Jones was always so calm, so collected, even when deeply upset he always strived to remain in control but the way he was acting right now it was almost like...

“Ianto, how old were you when you got your present?” the Doctor asked as calmly as he could.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry it was just a game.  He gave me my birthday present and I never saw him again.

“I thought it was because my present was so dangerous, he told me to keep it secret, never use it, keep it safe but me mam said his family had just moved away,” Ianto said shaking his head and backing away.

“Ianto what birthday?  How old were you?” the Doctor asked firmly.

“Five.  I’m sorry,” the Welshman sobbed, backing up into the door, and the Time Lord felt anger rage though him.

Ianto collapsed, trying to get away, a look of sheer terror in his face.

Belatedly the Time Lord remembered that the Welshman would be hyper aware, that meant he knew the anger he was feeling towards the person who had inflicted this on a five year old child.

“Ianto I’m not angry at you, I’m not, I’m angry at him,” the Doctor said trying to calm.

“He was my best friend, it was only a game,” Ianto replied tears spilling out of his eyes.

“Ianto I know this is distressing but you have to go to sleep,” the Doctor said gently.

Ianto just shook his head, he was too frightened and agitated to do it.

“Jack, Jack,” the Time Lord snapped until the Immortal turned to look at him.

“It is very very important that he goes to sleep, he needs to rebalance his mind and he can do that if he sleeps,” the Doctor said reassuringly.

“Can you give us some privacy?” Jack asked.

“Sure,” the Time Lord said backing away.

He motioned for the others to go deeper into the Cathedral and leave the two of them alone.  The Doctor realised that there was light coming through the windows, the mesh Ianto had woven was stable and would protect them through night.

After a few minutes they could hear singing.  The Doctor recognised that it was a lullaby in a Fifty-First Century colony language, presumably from Jack’s home planet.

Despite the distance, the TARDIS could have translated the song easily but had chosen not to.  _Quite right_ , the Doctor thought as the song was obviously very personal.

He turned to the others and saw that Gwen had disappeared.  She emerged from the crypt a few minutes later, arm in arm with her husband with Eversleigh and Marcus following.

Mickey and Martha held each other, Gwen and Rhys did the same.  Marcus and Eversleigh sat side by side and after a few minutes leaned into each other and held hands.

Looking at the lovers, listening to the beautiful song between two more, the Time Lord, once more felt a pang of loneliness as he waited for Ianto Harkness-Jones to fall asleep.


	31. Chapter Thirty-one

Jack continued to sing long after Ianto had curled up to sleep in his lap.  He knew when he stopped the others would return and just for a few moments he wanted to be alone, holding his husband.

He loved Ianto so much, seeing him glowing and being unable to feel him had been terrifying.  For those few minutes the Welshman hadn’t been his husband and Jack hated it.

The Immortal stopped singing because he realised he needed to know why, needed to know what this was that had happened to Ianto.

He held Ianto in the silence and didn’t care what the others thought as they approached, his husband was the one person Jack knew he never wanted to let go of.

The Doctor gave Ianto a quick scan with the sonic screwdriver and sagged slightly with relief before sitting down on the floor in front of them.

The others gathered around including Rhys, Marcus and Tim Eversleigh, they had obviously obeyed Ianto’s instructions.

“He will sleep until morning and then wake up very hungry,” the Doctor told him.

“It drained him?” the Immortal asked worried.

“Quite the opposite it will have left residual energy in him making him hyper aware, possibly hyperactive, unfortunately that will have also sped up his metabolism.

“He needed to sleep so that his body could adjust, it isn’t dangerous to him now and once this is over, hopefully he will soon return more or less to normal,” the Doctor said calmly.

“Hopefully?” Jack said angrily.  In his arms Ianto whimpered and Jack forced himself to be calm and stroked his husband until he became peaceful again.

“I won’t lie, the Concept was designed to be perfectly safe for the host as long as the host doesn’t try to use it.  What we saw was it fulfilling its purpose, then it used Ianto but it was designed to do that without harming him,” the Doctor told them.

“What?” Rhys asked and Jack couldn’t have put it better himself.

The Time Lord sighed.

“The Legends go back to the Dark Time, the Black cloud, my people called it Sorlshar.”

“Let me guess that means soul eater,” Rhys said sarcastically when the Time Lord hesitated, remembering his people.

“Actually it means star eater, my people were a bit pompous and very grandiose,” the Doctor told them with a quick smile before becoming serious once more.

“No one knows where the Sorlshar came from, only their devastating effect.  They are an energy parasite that discovered that they like to inhabit sentient life forms.

“They take over, the stronger the will, the more complicated the personality the harder it is, but they like to take control and slowly erode the spirit of the ones they have taken,” the Doctor said darkly.

“Eating the soul,” Martha said with a shudder.

“Those people in the stations,” Gwen said horrified.

“It’s possible that not all of them will have been taken as hosts.  The Sorlshar enjoy inflicting pain, fear and death on others.

“Some will be more difficult to control and with some they will enjoy the battle for dominance.  They like to draw the process out because when the soul is consumed, while they can still use the bodies, they start to decay so after a while they have to consume them to.

“When all life is extinct, legends say they eat the planet, then its neighbours then the sun to gain enough energy to go to the next world,” the Time Lord said darkly.

“How long will that take?” Mickey asked.

“That depends on the species and how entertaining they are.”

“That is twisted,” Gwen said looking nauseous.

“I think they were in the Box of Oncreath and Firebrand let them out, that’s why they didn’t care that I dismantled the Time Distorter, the Sorlshar have no interest in such things,” the Doctor said.

“And what are they interested in?” Jack asked.

“I don’t know, they have been trapped for millennia, the universe had changed, but they must have a plan, a plan for something terrible.”

“How do you know?” Mickey asked.

“Because the Concept in Ianto only protected us, it didn’t try to wipe them out completely.  The only reason for it to do that is if the consequences for those it is trying save, for humanity, are worse than letting it stay,” the Time Lord replied.

Unconsciously Jack held on tighter to his husband.  Ianto didn’t seem to mind, in fact he snuggled closer, a gesture that make the Immortal’s heart swell with love.

 “What Concept?” Martha asked.

“At the end of the Dark Time the first great civilisation emerged.  Talclerai Empire spanned half the universe, though the Universe wasn’t as big then as it is now.

“They were said to be wonderful with fantastic technological advances, they held off some of the great titans of the Dark Time.

“Then the Sorlshar came and ate some of their solar systems.

“Conventional weapons didn’t work; they only killed or destroyed host bodies.  The Sorlshar survived bringing death with them,” the Doctor said in his most ominous tones.

All of them shuddered.  Jack could see fear in all of their eyes, this terrifying soul and star eater was here on Earth and he was probably the only one who could survive.

“The Legends say that a man called Neminar had the idea of fighting the energy parasite with an energy it couldn’t stand.

“He noticed that the Sorlshar deliberately avoided a solar system that didn’t belong to the Empire because was inhabited by beings who had begun to shed their mortal forms and ascend.

“Neminar invited a delegation of these beings to help find out why and discover that the energy they gave off destroyed Sorlshar but there weren’t enough of them and the Sorlshar adapted,” the Doctor explained.

“So he had to find a way to replicate the energy?” Martha asked.

“Yes, the only problem was that artificial replication didn’t work, there had to be something alive about the energy.

“Neminar came up with the Concept, a formula if you like that uses a living host to think it and give it that spark of life.  You see the Concept when thought, draws what it needs from the Universe, through the host, to create the living energy, which it can then send out to destroy the Sorlshar,” the Doctor explained gesturing with his hands like a teacher explaining breathing exercises.

 “But how do you give someone that much power without risking them using it against the people afterwards?” Jack asked quietly.

“And what about the host, what happens to them while they’re being an energy generator?” Gwen asked and Jack wished she hadn’t, he could still remember how vacant Ianto was while the light flowed out of him.

“Indeed, Neminar was very concerned for the host during generation, the stories all say what a good man he was, and he wanted to ensure that they weren’t harmed.

“He had an apprentice, an ex-convict trying to reform.  The Apprentice was needed because Neminar couldn’t comprehend the cruelty the Sorlshar was capable of.

“The Apprentice warned Neminar that if he gave someone that power they would use it, so together they set out restrictions, but they knew the concept would need to be adaptable as the Sorlshar changed.”

The Doctor suddenly got up and started to pace up and down restlessly.  They were obviously coming to the bit of the tale that the Time Lord didn’t like.

“To spare the host the pain, Neminar made the concept react automatically in the presence of the Sorlshar.  The host’s mind becomes dormant while the Concept thinks itself through the host’s consciousness.

“While the Host is generating the light they are Immortal because they can become the energy they create, nothing physical touches them.  When it stops they become a flesh and blood mortal again,” the Time Lord said swiftly and sadly to Jack.

The Immortal stroked his husband’s hair.  As ever he felt torn between wanting a lifelong lover and not wanting him to know the curse.

 “But as you said, how do you give someone such power and not expect them to want to use it?” the Doctor asked looking down at all of them.

“In order to adapt to the changes in the Sorlshar, the Concept, when active, will use the host’s mind to think up solutions and remembers them for next time.

“When the Sorlshar are gone the Host returns to normal, unharmed though a little juiced, and the Concept is meant to just sit there in the brain waiting for the Host to sense the Sorlshar again.  The Concept was designed so that there wasn’t any conscious interaction between it and its host, so that it could only do what it was designed to do and nothing else.”

The Doctor turned away from them and appeared to be studying the stained glass windows of the Cathedral.  Jack had a sinking feeling that something ominous was to come.

“Neminar chose four virtuous men to be hosts to his Concept.  The Legend says they did their duty and drove the Sorlshar into hiding outside Talclerai space.

“But the idea of such power plagued on their minds.  Each of them found a way to contact the Concept inside them and get it to do things for them,” the Doctor said turning back to them once again.  He looked deep into Jack’s eyes as he walked slowly to where he and Ianto sat.

“Neminar’s measures meant the Concept couldn’t safely activate and think up new abilities without the presence of Sorlshar.  The only way for them to do what their hosts wanted was to use the minds of the host to come up with the solution and implement it.

“Small requests could be recovered from, but larger ones often left the hosts permanently brain damaged, making them vulnerable.  Many were killed and the Concept, with its new knowledge, passed to their murderer.

 “Ianto?” Jack asked desperately tears in his eyes that touched the Time Lord’s hearts.

“He thought getting the Concept was a childhood game, swiftly forgotten.  I think too that his ‘friend’s” the Doctor almost spat the word, “disappearance unconsciously reinforced the idea that it was dangerous and best left unused.

“Tonight I suspect is only the second time it has activated since Ianto was given it, the first probably being during the storm, he drove off the black cloud not Mickey’s weather changer, though I don’t think he remembers doing it.

“Either way it has only ever been used for its purpose and he won’t be harmed by that,” the Doctor reassured and the immoral sighed with relief.

“So what happened?  Last time I checked the Universe wasn’t ruled by three all powerful idiots,” Mickey asked.

“When Neminar found out how his Concept was being used he took his own life.  His apprentice was with him and the Concept that Neminar didn’t realise he carried passed to the Apprentice,” the Doctor began.

“Uh oh,” Marcus interrupted but the Time Lord smiled.

“Actually that was the best thing that could have happened.  Like I said the Apprentice was trying to reform, he knew evil and temptation and resisted.

“He began the Order of Nemin to train his successor and guardians to retrieve the other concepts and hide them until they were needed to face the Sorlshar,” the Doctor said smiling.

“The Order of Nemin?” the Immortal said in surprise.

“Yes, I suspect the game Ianto was talking about was his training as a Nemin Guardian,” the Time Lord said nodding to the Welshman.

“He’d be a perfect Nemin Guardian, except for the celibacy thing,” Jack said proudly.

“I doubt it was an issue when he was five,” the Time Lord pointed out as Jack kissed the top of his husband’s head.

“The Apprentice’s plan didn’t quite work, one of his students murdered him for the Concept but his others continued his work.  The Sorlshar disappeared from the universe and the Concepts were all retrieved and placed in living rocks.

“Over the Millennia the order died out and some Concepts found their way back into humanoids and were later lost when their hosts died without a successor present.

“I thought the last Concept was lost with Gallifray.  Anything the Concept created for a previous host can be safely used by a new host.  One of my people thought it worth the risk and tried to use it to stop the Daleks during the Time War.  For a while what the Concept knew was enough but in the end he lost his mind trying to save others,” the Time Lord said sadly.

“You said that the Concept remembers everything it’s done,” Martha began

“Yes but not what another Concept knows, they are individual,” the Time Lord interrupted and Martha shot him a glare.

“I assume that knowledge includes a lot of atrocities.  What affect would that have had on a five year old boy?” Martha asked and Jack felt his heart constrict.

“I don’t know.  I wasn’t there when that other Time Lord took the Concept, I don’t know what sort of assimilation he underwent.

“Hopefully when Ianto wakes up he will be the same man we’ve always known, but that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been some effect, that there will be an effect,” the Doctor said solemnly and all Jack could do was hold the man he loved tighter.

 

 


	32. Chapter Thirty-two

As Ianto Harkness-Jones began to wake he could smell Jack.  He moved closer, felt the presence of his husband’s neck and couldn’t resist licking it, then sucking it.

“The Doctor said you’d wake up hungry not horny,” Jack said slightly worried.

“I am, I’m ravenous,” Ianto replied scrambling to his feet.

“Let’s go get something to eat,” he added offering a hand to Jack.

His husband was looking at him with a slightly worried expression but he took the hand and got up.  Ianto opened the door to the Cathedral and pulled Jack outside.

The dome of light and the dark cloud were gone leaving only a beautiful, crisp morning.  London felt a little strange being so deserted but Ianto was too hungry and horny to care so he dragged his husband to a nearby cafe and broke in.

The Welshman raided the kitchens, mentally making notes so that he could repay the owners when the crisis was over.  He made coffee and breakfast and set both down in front of Jack and himself in the seating area.

After a few mouthfuls he noticed that Jack wasn’t eating, he was staring at Ianto.  The Welshman scooped a forkful off of his husband’s plate and offered it for him to eat.

“Got to keep your strength up,” Ianto said with a smile that widened as Jack accepted the food from the fork waved in front of him.

Jack now began to fork food into his mouth and they continued to eat in silence, occasionally stealing hot glances at each other.  Ianto wasn’t ready to talk about last night and Jack wasn’t ready to ask.

After he cleared his plate, Ianto slowly sipped his coffee as he watched Jack eat the last of his breakfast and gulp his own drink down. 

When he was certain his husband had finished the Welshman got up and pushed the table aside smashing their used plates as they fell off onto the floor.

“Now for desert,” he said lustfully and he bent down to kiss Jack.

“My favourite flavour, loving husband,” Ianto said huskily and the Immortal pulled him down for a second passionate kiss.

Ianto wasted no time moving from Jack’s lips to his neck, swiftly undoing the buttons so that he could get access and go lower.

He could feel Jack beneath him in a way that he hadn’t been able to before.  Ianto was aware of the affect his touch had on the Immortal’s nerves and how to stimulate them gently to enhance the feeling.

Jack was writhing in his seat by the time Ianto opened his flies and unzipped his trousers.  The Immortal lifted himself up so that his cock could be freed from the cloth.

Ianto engulfed him seconds later.  Breakfast had tasted unbelievably wonderful but that was nothing to this, the taste and smell of Jack’s arousal made him moan with pleasure.

His tongue had the same ability as his fingers, it could sense the stimulation it was causing and enhance it with every lick.

The Immortal soon came hard in Ianto’s mouth and he drank Jack down greedily.

Jack looked down at him with pleasant surprise.  His eyes flickered to the hardness in Ianto’s trousers and he swiftly got up, swept the last of their dishes from the table and bent over waiting.

Ianto retrieved some lube from his pocket and inserted a finger into Jack’s waiting hole.  The immoral moaned with pleasure as he was swiftly opened by the Welshman’s stimulating digits.

He unzipped, slicked up and entered his husband.

Ianto could feel Jack around him, feel the effect his cock had on the cells of Jack’s body as well as the pleasures in his mind.

The Immortal rapidly hardened again as Ianto pounded into him.  The Welshman enjoyed the feeling for both of them, his own pleasure and that his husband felt.

“Ianto,” Jack cried out as he came for the second time.

The Welshman followed a few thrusts later but the table could no longer hold on.

It collapsed beneath them and Ianto fell on top of Jack, still inside Jack. 

“Jack,” Ianto called worried and rapidly withdrew when he felt the Immortal beneath him shaking.

When Jack turned to face him, he was laughing.  He grabbed Ianto and pulled them together for a passionate kiss.

They lay there on the broken table for a long time just staring at each other.  After a while Jack began to fully removed his clothes then swiftly removed Ianto’s.

The Immortal opened his mind, let himself fully experience what Ianto was feeling as they gently aroused each other then made love again.

“Are you alright,” Jack asked cautiously afterwards as they curled up in each other’s arms.

“My memories are vague, like when I retreat inside myself I’m subconsciously aware but not consciously.  Today though everything feels more brilliant, I’m more aware than I’ve ever been.

“It won’t last though, once the dark cloud...”

“The Sorlshal,” Jack interrupted.

“Once the Sorshal have gone, my awareness and everything will swiftly return to normal.” Ianto reassured.

Jack nodded and unconsciously drew his husband nearer.  It was only a small gesture but it was enough to overwhelm Ianto.

“I was so afraid of how you would take what’s happened to me.  I thought that you wouldn’t want...” Ianto began tears welling in his eyes.

“You think foolish things sometimes.  I’m going to want you for the rest of my life,” Jack told him, gently brushing the tears away.

Ianto smiled and blushed, turning away from the lovely sentiment he knew could never come true.

“I will,” Jack reinforced gently and set about proving how sincere his word was.


	33. Chapter Thirty-three

Jack mused that the Doctor really hadn’t been kidding about Ianto’s increase in appetite.  After their lovemaking the Welshman had made himself another breakfast before they made love again.

For once he was glad that he was Immortal or Jack doubted he could have kept up with his husband; especially as Ianto was doing something to enhance the pleasure in his touch.

It was now mid morning and they were both feeling satisfied and sated as they walked hand in hand through the deserted streets of London towards the Thames.

Neither man had suggested going back to the others at St. Pauls Cathedral, they both wanted to be alone with each other for a while after the previous nights events.

Jack wanted to ask, wanted to know what affect the Concept had had on his husband as a child, now that he had reassured himself that it hadn’t affected him last night, the Welshman was still mostly the same Ianto.

He had partly been reassured of the latter by this morning, Ianto might have been super horny but every touch and feel, despite the sensory enhancement, was still that of Jack’s husbands.

Last night when the light had emanated from Ianto, he had looked so beautiful but it was a cold beauty because Jack hadn’t been able to feel him.

This morning Ianto seemed to him to be more beautiful, he vibrated with life and the Immortal was afraid of what would happen when the energy faded.

They reached the riverbank and Jack stood behind Ianto as the Welshman leaned into him as they looked out at the Thames.  Birds flew overhead but otherwise the world was eerily silent.

“I started school just after my fourth birthday.  I knew some of the kids from nursery but most were strangers.

“I didn’t know Hadyn Cadwallader when my teacher sat him next to me.  There was something different about him though and I liked him almost straight away,” Ianto said and Jack could hear the smile in his voice.

The Immortal couldn’t help remembering a conversation he’d had a few years ago with one of Ianto’s school friends, Anne Marie. 

She told him how, as a child, Ianto was drawn to people who were different, even if they didn’t know yet why, and that being Ianto’s friend had made them all feel special.  If the Doctor was right then there was something very different about Hadyn Cadwallader and he wondered how special Ianto had made him feel.

“Our game started in that first day, Guardians of Nemin, Hadyn made it sound like King Arthur and Camelot only different and it was so fun.

“Playtime, lunch time, after school; even during creative periods we played Guardians of Nemin.  He trained me physically and mentally to protect a treasure and keep it secret,” Ianto said his voice wistful with fond remembrance.

“The Concept,” Jack said trying not to feel angry.

To him, Hadyn had clearly abused the trust of a sweet, good-natured boy who would one day be his loving husband.

“I snuck out of my house on my fifth birthday and we went to the park.  We had an initiation ritual and Hadyn gave me my present, the treasure I had earned the right to guard.

“Inside there was a rock and he smiled at me and told me I had to break it to get the treasure.  I did as he said and there was a light.

“My sister found me asleep in the park, I never saw Hadyn again.  Mum told me later that his family had gone away.

“Part of me wanted to romanticise it, he’d done his duty in teaching me and giving me the treasure, but in my heart I knew he was dead, killed for the secret I now possessed,” Ianto said quietly turned  and wrapped his arms around his husband.

Jack could feel hot tears wet his shirt as he held Ianto and he mourned the childhood friend who had meant so much to him.

“I had nightmares for a week after my birthday,” Ianto said quietly after his tears stopped.

The Welshman was resting his head on Jack’s shoulder and the Immortal turned them so that they could both look out at the Thames.

“I don’t remember them but my mum told me I used to cry out and thrash, but I couldn’t wake myself up, yet I don’t remember.

“You see part of the integration between the Concept and Host is the assimilation of the Concept’s knowledge, everything that it knows and has done,” Ianto said quietly.

“The Doctor said that the Concepts were used to conquer and enslave, all those atrocities...”

“She’s a self firing weapon but only at the Sorlshar, she isn’t responsible for what was asked of her, those other hosts were,” Ianto said defensively moving himself out of Jack’s arms to lean against the railings.

Hadyn has chosen his child guardian well; Ianto’s reaction has all the protectiveness Jack would have expected if the Concept was a relative or friend.

“I don’t remember my nightmares because she could tell they were harming me.  My mind couldn’t comprehend, couldn’t cope, it was too young, so she never integrated her knowledge into my mind,” Ianto said not looking as Jack joined him against the rails.

“She?” the Immortal asked quietly.

“I think she was my invisible friend.  Children often make someone up to talk to while they’re by themselves but when I did it, she assumed I was talking to her.

“Of course I didn’t do that so much as I got older, but everyone has internal debates and every now and then I would ask myself a question and, although I answered them, I sometimes wondered why I asked it,” Ianto said nostalgically.

“You talked to her?  The Doctor said that using her was dangerous for you,” Jack said in alarm.

“I have never asked her for anything.  Humans only use a small percentage of their brain, I merely let her use a part of it that I wasn’t,” Ianto said stubbornly.

It was a child’s argument and a child’s reasoning.  Ianto had made the decision to let the Concept think within him a long time ago, and he didn’t seem harmed.

“Wait a minute you know about integration and everything because last night made you more aware of her.  This morning...”

“This morning was just the two of us.  I felt alive, hungry and horny and I wanted to know I was still yours.  She understood that and withdrew herself from my consciousness.

“While she agrees with me that you are an exquisite specimen of manhood; I don’t think you’re her type anymore,” Ianto replied looking appealingly at him.

Jack opened his arms and his husband slipped within them.

He wasn’t going to push the matter of why the Concept didn’t fancy him, apart from the disturbing possibilities of what might happened this morning if she did, he thought he knew why.

One of the biggest regrets of Jack’s life was that he had once broken Ianto’s heart.  He considered being accepted back a miracle and suspected that if the Concept had had her say, she would have advised her host to tell him to get lost.

Jack wondered how subconscious a friend the Concept had been.  All those lonely nights in the dark while Ianto cared for Lisa and after he left, had she been with him, keeping him from being totally alone?

“I am more aware of her right now because there are things we need to know,” Ianto said after they’d been silent for a while.

“You see while the universe has been evolving the Sorlshar have been plotting within the Box of Oncreath.”

“Their time in isolation has made them long for corporal form, to touch.  They aren’t just interested in consuming anymore and they want to rule. 

“Those people in the station, I felt great fear but not pain, they’re not being tortured they’re being experimented on, studied.

“In five days they will be ready to take Britain and they will pretend that this whole incident never happened.

“Then they will spread through stealth across the world until the whole Earth is ruled by the Sorlshar and we won’t be able to fight back.  Then they will head out into the stars in search of other races to enslave,” Ianto said quietly and Jack could hear the fear in his voice.

“How do you know all this?  Can you read the Sorlshar?” Jack asked with concern.

“Not the Sorlshar, their hosts,” Ianto whispered with a shudder.

“Oh Ianto what are we going to do?” the Immortal asked holding his husband closer.

“Yes Ianto what’s our next move?” the Doctor asked.

Jack felt Ianto stiffen in his arm as they turned to see the others.  He wondered why the question suddenly sounded so ominous.


	34. Chapter Thirty-four

The Doctor was very concerned when he realised that Jack and Ianto had gone from the Cathedral and he hadn’t noticed.

Admittedly he had snuck off himself to find the office in which the Time Lord discovered an ancient computer.  After he had improved it, he went on-line in search of an update of the situation.

He couldn’t contact Major Brandan or her team but he did manage to access their sensor data enough to know that the Sorlshar had only left Liverpool Street Station and the Torchwood Tower that night.

He returned to find the Immortal and his very special husband gone.  The Time Lord completely searched the Cathedral before deciding they must be outside.

By then the others had all woken up.  The Doctor poked his head out of the door first to confirm that it was daylight coming through the windows and not the light from the dome before letting them out.

They found the Welshman’s tie in the cafe where Jack and Ianto had spent the first part of the morning.  It reeked of sex and the Time Lord wondered how the Immortal could feel promiscuous after last night.

 _Unless it was Ianto who was feeling promiscuous after last night_ , the Doctor thought and felt worried.

The Welshman hadn’t broadcasted his feelings this morning.  He had felt neither the red hot lust nor the achingly beautiful love Ianto was capable of feeling towards Jack and sharing with the world.

The Time Lord knew he should feel relieved at the Welshman’s self control, but instead he felt regret at having missed out.

Further searching for the Harkness-Joneses was delayed by Rhys.

He reasoned that, as the place had already been raided and trashed, and that as Jack or Torchwood would be footing the bill, they might as well have breakfast.

They all looked at the Doctor to see if it was okay.  The Time Lord had to admit that he was feeling hungry too and he knew that neither Jack nor Ianto would have abandoned them if there was an immediate danger, so he agreed.

After breakfast he used the sonic screwdriver to pick up traces from Jack’s vortex manipulator to locate them.

They found them at the riverbank talking intimately.  None of the group felt like disturbing the two husbands after last night until Jack asked,

“Oh Ianto what are we going to do?”

“Yes Ianto what’s our next move?” the Time Lord said more to announce their presence than ask the question.

Both men started and after a brief hesitation they separated and turned towards them.

Ianto told them his belief that the Sorlshar were no longer interested in just consuming their hosts, but in finding a way to live through them and then conquer the universe.

It was a frightening thought.  If the news reports were to be believed then those zombie like people taken over in the first wave were just a crude attempt.

The Doctor suddenly wondered in Miss Simpkin, the head of Firebrand, was as gullible as Ianto had thought.  If she had one of the Sorlshar inside her then perhaps she wasn’t as wise in the ways of deceit as her human self.

Of course it could be that she really was gullible and had been spared because the Sorlshar couldn’t stand to be near Ianto.  Which begged the question...

“Surely you can just use that light, energy, concept thing in you to destroy all the Sorlshar?” Rhys asked.

“I can if you don’t care what happens to the hosts.  I need to know more about how they took control before I can stop their hold without doing more damage.  For some it is too late but those they are trying to live through might have more hope,” Ianto replied.

“Fair do’s,” Rhys said nodding.

“Of course it might not be as simple as that,” Mickey said earning himself a raised eyebrow at the description of Ianto’s task as simple.

“I was thinking about what you said last night, Firebrand abandoned their experiments in Temporal Manipulation and let you dismantle it because the Sorlshar have no interest in such things, but they were a hive of activity before I left, starting new projects.

“You said conventional weapons won’t destroy them only the hosts but I assume that destruction would give the Sorlshar energy.  And they can kill all of us except Jack,” Mickey said darkly and the Immortal stepped closer to Ianto.

“What are you saying?” Eversleigh asked.

 “After they opened the box, Firebrand started focusing on their weaponry division,” Mickey answered.

“Of course a backup plan,” the Time Lord said slapping himself on the forehead.

“Sorlshar haven’t come across human beings before, they didn’t know how suitable you lot are for their grand plan   If they couldn’t live for a prolonged period of time in humans then they could just destroy a load of you to replenish their energy and go back to being soul and star eaters before trying again with the next species,” the Doctor said.

“And now that they know there is a Concept on Earth?” Ianto asked quietly.

“You cannot be killed while you’re thinking the Concept any more than Jack can but...” the Time Lord really didn’t like where his thoughts were going as he looked at Martha.

“But?” she asked frightened.

“If they destroyed the Earth, they could use the energy to escape you and Ianto, you wouldn’t survive once you stopped thinking the Concept,” the Doctor answered.

“The Osterhagen project was completely dismantled,” Martha told him firmly knowing exactly what he was thinking.

“They even filled in or destroyed the sights of the devices and their control centers,” Jack added.

“That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t find another way to destroy the Earth and Osterhagen laid the groundwork,” Ianto said coldly.

“Yes but that takes time, time we have to use, they’ve only just found out about you, so while they might be able to destroy London, the Earth is safe for a while,” the Doctor reassured.

He looked at the faces of his friends and none of them looked at all reassured.

“Which brings us back to the question of what do we do?  Do we give Ianto a chance to study some Sorlshar hosts and hope that the Concept can do its thing in time or do we stop them being able to destroy everything first?” Jack asked stepping even closer to Ianto.

“They’re going to send Hosted Sorlshar after me.  We should be safe from the Black Cloud in daylight though,” Ianto said allowing Jack to put his arms around him.

“Does daylight hurt them?” Gwen asked.

“They’re not vampires, quite the opposite actually.  In cloud form they can get energy from sunlight, it will distract them from carrying out their plan so they probably think it’s safer to stay in the dark,” Ianto replied with a smile to take the sting out of his words.

“So we stop them being able to destroy the Earth and you can study the hosts that come after you.  We’ll get the SUV’s and go back to Canary Wharf,” Gwen said firmly.

“No, UNIT’s London HQ is closer,” Ianto objected.

“They evacuated with the rest of London,” Eversleigh pointed out.

“Yes but their records and equipment are still there, we need to make sure that the Sorlshar can’t use either to their advantage,” Ianto said firmly.

“We go to the Tower then,” the Doctor said and they all nodded in agreement.

 


	35. Chapter Thirty-five

Gwen stayed with Jack and Ianto for the whole walk to Liverpool Street Station.  Jack wondered why Rhys was hanging back with Mickey and Martha while his wife was cutting into what could have been a nice, private walk.

It bothered the Immortal particularly because it wasn’t him she was talking nervously to, wasn’t him she was eyeing up and down for reassurance, it was Ianto.

Jack glanced back at Rhys who nodded apologetically and smiled back.

Rhys wasn’t worried that Gwen would suddenly run of with Ianto, not that his husband would, so Jack tried not to be irritated by her presence.

When they got to Liverpool Street Station they found that the SUV’s were they left them, unharmed apart from having flat batteries which the Sonic Screwdriver quickly helped with.

Gwen and Rhys got into the SUV before Jack could suggest they go with Martha and Mickey.  The only consolation was that he was still in the front while they were in the back with the Doctor.

Jack felt less worried about Ianto’s speed now that he knew that his husband’s senses were enhanced by the Concept.

He had noticed that, during the Welshman’s earlier explanation, he missed out the part about being in communication with the Concept and about knowing the Sorlshar’s plans from their Hosts.

Ianto was always a very private person, hardly ever talked about his psychic abilities with anyone other than his husband.  Jack loved the trust, especially as he understood what it was like to have others think of you as a freak.

Not that Ianto was, he was perfect and wonderful but Jack knew that that was his opinion because he loved the Welshman with all his heart, others were not so understanding.

When they arrived at the Tower of London, the Doctor scanned it with his sonic and Ianto nodded before they entered.

Gwen, Marcus, Eversleigh and Mickey entered first.  They did a sweep of the route to UNIT’s secret HQ before the others entered.

Jack knew he should have probably been with those making sure the building was safe but he didn’t want to be separated from Ianto.  The Welshman knew this and made him carry some of the equipment form the SUV to disguise this.

At least he assumed that’s why he was carrying the equipment, not that any of it was heavy, just bulky.

He had a small doubt when he set the equipment down and turned to he see that his husband had been checking out his arse.  It wasn’t something Jack had any objections to it just seemed a bit odd.

“You’re not feeling horny again are you?” Jack whispered.

“Well if you will provoke me with such magnificence.  Alas we have no time right now,” Ianto replied smiling with the promise that there would be time later.

He turned away and went to join the Doctor who was inspecting some of the terminals.

Gwen had returned from her initial sweep and looked over at Ianto.  The Immortal felt a little uncomfortable about the way she watched his husband before she collected Rhys to explore the Tower further. 

Mickey also returned a few minutes later and joined Ianto, the Doctor and Martha in looking though UNIT’s systems.

Jack stood there feeling slightly disconnected.  He had the choice between doing his own security sweep and helping the others with the computers but he found himself doing neither.

He watched as Ianto moved from terminal to terminal with more energy and enthusiasm than the Doctor.   The Immortal could see Mickey and Martha exchanging looks of concern.

It got worse when the Welshman and the Time Lord started comparing notes.  He could follow most of the conversation and so could Mickey but Martha looked rather baffled.

She went over to join Jack as her husband began to join in the discussion.  Martha looked at him, pleading to be told what was going on.

“The Sorlshar haven’t been here and they are making sure they don’t get anything useful if they do,” Jack translated for her.

“Gotcha,” she said sitting down next to him.

She didn’t say anything more but it was a pointed silence.  Martha’s eyes held worry and concern for both Ianto and him.

“We’re alright,” Jack reassured her.

“Are you?”

“Yes.  The Doctor said it himself, Ianto has surplus energy running through him right now.  When this is over he’ll be back to normal,” Jack said firmly and wished it didn’t sound like he was trying to convince himself.

Martha said nothing and Jack knew he had failed to convince anyone.

The man currently typing at a hundred and fifty words a minute was still very much his Ianto, but ever since the Welshman told him the Concept was conscious in his mind, Jack couldn’t help going over everything and looking for it.

Like checking out his arse earlier, Jack could accept that the Concept had no interest in his backside but he couldn’t help wondering if she had made the Welshman notice it was on display.

“I’d like to give him a medical while I’m here.  I’m sure the Doctor’s right that this Concept doing no damage but I’d like to be certain,” she said gently, trying not to alarm him.

Jack hesitated.  Part of him wanted to make sure Ianto was alright while the other part knew that his husband didn’t really like hospitals and medical exams.

“Okay,” Ianto replied startling both of them.

“Need to get him a bell,” Martha muttered.  Ianto smiled briefly indicating that he had also heard.

“There’s nothing else I can do here and I’m sure having a medical exam will put everyone’s minds at rest.  I’m still me,” Ianto reassured.

“I’m not questioning that but you’ve had an alien energy flowing through you and we can’t know for certain what affect that will have,” Martha said sincerely.

There was a note of worry in her eyes and in her voice, and Jack suddenly realised why Gwen had been watching Ianto so carefully.

He remembered Torchwood’s mission at CERN, Ianto had been attacked, his neutrons stolen and he had started to glow and both Martha and Gwen had seen it while he was elsewhere doing what had to be done to reverse it.

Last night must have seemed a bit like a repeat to them, though thankfully this time Ianto wasn’t crying out to join the dead.

“Martha’s just going to give me a medical exam,” Ianto called out to the Doctor.

Mickey turned and looked at his wife and nodded.  The Time Lord merely waved without turning away from what he was doing.

UNIT’s medical bay was not far from the control centre.  Jack paced anxiously while Martha methodically began to do her tests.

“Jack do you mind waiting outside,” Martha asked after a while.

“What is it what’s wrong?” he asked.

“You’re distracting my patient and elevating some of his levels,” she replied her gaze dipping towards the slight bulge of the Welshman’s crotch.

Jack looked at his husband’s face and Ianto smiled without blushing.  The Immortal realised that the Welshman wasn’t paying Martha any attention, despite what she was trying to do.

“I’ll wait outside then,” Jack said and Ianto gave him a look of disappointment.

It was one of the most agonising half hours of his life.  He really didn’t want Martha to find anything wrong, didn’t want to face the possibility that this morning’s love making had fooled him into believing that everything was alright.

Martha emerged looking a little flushed.

“What is it?” Jack asked urgently.

“There have been minuet changes to Ianto’s physiology that I suspect were made while he was... thinking the Concept.

“You know that’s something I cannot really get my head around, a dormant idea that thinks itself in times of crisis.” Martha said shaking her head.

“What sort of changes and are they permanent?” Jack asked ignoring her confusion.

“Ianto’s mind and body are working at three times their normal speed, human beings aren’t meant to be able to cope with that, there should be elevations is blood pressure, headaches, damage to his limbs from overuse, all sorts of things but he’s experiencing none of that.

“If I wasn’t his doctor, if I was meeting him for the first time, I would think he was always like that, a fluke of nature,” there was wonder in Martha’s voice as she said that that made Jack feel disturbed.

“The bottom line in that the energy isn’t going to damage him, what will happen when this is all over, whether this is permanent, I can’t say.

“I can tell you that he will be hungry again soon so I suggest we raid another shop and get him something to eat and drink,” Martha said and hesitated.

“Please tell me,” Jack begged sensing her reluctance.

“Ianto set up access to the Hub’s computers so that I could compare his readings with his medical records.  His psychic readings are beyond anything he’s ever experienced, more than that they’re unlike any previously recorded on Earth,” she said a little frightened.

“The Concept is using Ianto’s senses to keep an eye on the Sorlshar and try and learn how to undo what they’ve done,” Jack informed her feeling a little relieved.

Ianto had more or less hinted that that would happen.  After all everything the Concept knew it learnt through its host.

“Well it has a side effect,” she said not looking at him.

“What?” Jack asked worried once more.

“Before, you know, I’m sure you had many near death experiences.  You know how alive they make you feel, how you notice everything as though for the first time.

“The enhancement of his senses is doing that to Ianto right now, all the time, and he’s finding it arousing,” Martha said flushing with embarrassment.

“What?”

“I made you leave because I thought it was you.  I have never had a more relaxed patient, and this is Ianto who’s always hyper tense when I examine him. 

“He’s ultra sensitive to everything and I have never had anyone moan when I touched them with my stethoscope before,” she said flustered.

“He didn’t do anything to you?”

“He apologised a lot and told me to send you in as soon as possible because he was definitely in need of your attention,” Martha said and Jack immediately turned to go back into the room.

“Oh and I was meant to send you in naked,” she added mischievously as he opened the door.

He turned to reply but strong hands grabbed him and pulled him inside.

 


	36. Chapter Thirty-six

“So how did the medical go?  Where are they?” the Doctor asked Martha as soon as she appeared and he realised she was alone.

She felt the blood rush to her face with embarrassment.

“We’re in the middle of a crisis we don’t have time for them to go around procreating,” the Doctor snapped.

“I don’t think Ianto can help it,” Martha replied.

Instantly the Doctor was at a console bringing up the data from the medical she’d just performed.  The Time Lord started hmming and she felt like he was in the middle of an important exam.

“You’re right he can’t,” the Time Lord said after a while.

“What?” Mickey asked.

“Was Jack there during the medical?” the Doctor asked ignoring Mickey’s question.

“He was at first but I made him leave, I thought his presence was affecting the readings.  It didn’t seem to make any difference to Ianto’s mood,” Martha said defensively.

“He didn’t do anything?” Mickey asked, concerned but with a slight hint of jealousy?

“No he just apologised for all the erotic moaning, mostly ‘Jack’ sounding moaning.  He wasn’t really focused on what I was doing,” Martha explained as her husband put and arm around her possessively.

“Yes there are dips in his readings, presumably when you asked Jack to leave and when you asked Ianto to focus on you.  You’re right though he couldn’t help his reactions, everything he’s feeling seems to be stimulating his pleasure centres,” the Doctor added.

“Won’t that be dangerous if we get into trouble?” Mickey asked.

“If it’s permanent yes but I don’t think it is.  The stimulation to his pleasure centres only started five minutes into your exam.”

“So either he started thinking about Jack in an erotic way then or Concept gave him a nudge,” Martha said concerned.

“Why would the Concept do that?  Has there been any history of that with other Hosts?” Mickey demanded to know.

The Doctor’s eyes had a faraway look as he thought about her husband’s questions.  After a few minutes his frown deepened.

“The Guardians of Nemin were crusaders devoted not just to protecting the Concepts of Neminar, but to protecting people, especially from those who possessed Concepts.

“Like Jack said they were a celibate order and the first people who wielded the Concepts were men of virtue.  There is no mention in any of the legends of Concept Hosts having relationships,” the Doctor said.

“Maybe it likes the way Ianto feels when he’s having sex.  It sort of fits, what’s the opposite of the Sorlshar who revel in death pain and fear, a Concept that enjoys procreation, pleasure and love,” Mickey suggested.

Martha looked at Mickey with concern as he spoke, but as he mentioned love, her husband drew her closer to him and she relaxed.

It worried her sometimes the way Ianto projected his feelings. 

She had to admit that during the months while Mickey was away, she had felt the love Ianto projected, missed her husband desperately but she had never had the urge to be unfaithful.

In a way that was how Martha knew she had finally chosen the right man.  She could not say the same thing during her engagement and short marriage to Tom.

“Right how’s it going?” Gwen asked as she and Rhys appeared.

After a few minutes of embarrassed silence, Martha and the Doctor explained what Jack and Ianto were currently doing.

“Where are you going?” the Doctor asked Rhys when he headed towards the door.

“From what you’ve just said Ianto’s going to be hungry and thirsty when he’s finished I thought I’d go and find them something to eat and stock up on food for the rest of the journey, save having to wait while they look for something,” the Welshman replied and disappeared out the door.

“Especially as I doubt Jack will bother getting dressed before going out foraging,” Mickey said and all but the Doctor snorted with laughter.

“This isn’t funny we’re in the middle of a dangerous situation,” the Time Lord snapped.

“We know that Doctor but it isn’t as thought we can go off and leave them because we have to stick close to Ianto.  Has it occurred to you that maybe we are meant to be delayed here,” Gwen said gently.

“What?”

“Well you examined Ianto after your TARDIS, you know, and again in the conference room and if those changes Martha mentioned had been there you would have mentioned it then but...

“...but can we be sure that Ianto waking up from his encounter on your ship wanting to shag Jack is just a coincidence?” Gwen asked.

“Are you saying you think my TARDIS is making Ianto hyper... to keep us here?” the Doctor said unconvinced.

“No she’s doing it for the Concept,” Martha said surprising herself.

“What?”

“You said last night that the Concept could only change itself through its host, surely that means that all the memories it has are really those experienced by its host? 

“Ianto is hyper-aware right now because the Concept is using his senses to keep an eye out for the Sorlshar yes?” Martha asked.

“Yes,” the Time Lord replied.

“From what you said last night. most of what the Concept knows is abuses of power.  Perhaps the TARDIS wants it to know love,” Martha suggested looking at Mickey.

Her husband smiled, stroked a finger down her cheek and gave her a passionate kiss.

Martha felt flushed, a little light headed and slightly embarrassed by the display so she turned to look at the others.

Gwen was staring at the door Rhys had departed through.  The Doctor was staring into space, a look of melancholy on his face.

Martha knew he was thinking of Rose.

A few years ago that look would have brought her pain, now she only felt pity for the Time Lord.  She looked at Mickey and saw a look of sympathy on his face as he looked at the Doctor.

Mickey told her long ago that he had known things were over between him and Rose before his first trip in the TARDIS.  He had gone because he didn’t want to be the one left behind, to be the one only contacted when they wanted something.

Being with the Doctor wasn’t the same for him though as it was for Rose, she was always first with the Time Lord.  That just made leaving easier.

Mickey had fallen in love with someone else before Rose ended up living in the parallel universe with her family, and he lost that love just before he returned to this one.

Martha’s husband turned to look at her and his eyes lit up.  A tension she didn’t even realise she was feeling relaxed inside her.

“Well I still have some work to do on these systems so I suppose we can do without them for a while.  I still haven’t managed to contact Brandan’s team and none of their data is getting here,” the Doctor said turning back to the computers.

“I’ll go and help Rhys with his foraging,” Gwen said heading after her husband.

“We’ll see what tech UNIT has that we can borrow or need to hide,” Mickey said smiling at Martha, inviting her to join him.

“You know I don’t see why Jack and Ianto should be the only ones to share the love,” Mickey said once they were out of earshot.

Martha smiled but she didn’t look at him as they began checking store rooms.

“You know I can’t tell you for certain that, if things had been different, I wouldn’t be very happy living in another universe right now, but I can tell you this, you’re no one’s substitute,” Mickey said quietly and she looked at him, surprised that he had been able to know her worries.

“There’s only one person in this universe that I love, that I could possibly be happy with, and she did me the honour of becoming Mrs. Smith.”

Martha turned to her husband and kissed him knowing, exactly why the TARDIS would want the Concept to know love.


	37. Chapter Thirty-seven

Jack looked ruefully across to where Ianto sat, naked, on his greatcoat wolfing down a sandwich.

The Immortal had found food outside the medical bay which was good; he hadn’t wanted to go too far from his husband.

“You know this is the second time today I’ve ended up naked, watching you eat,” Jack said as Ianto finished the last bites.

The Welshman flushed slightly and the Immortal felt himself stirring at the sight.  Ianto suddenly looked at him, an eyebrow raised and said.

“I don’t see you raising any objections.”

Part of Jack knew there were many objections, mostly along the lines of them having more important things to do, but that part of him was wise enough to remain silent.

 “I’m not complaining,” Jack said unable to keep the huge grin on his face as he leaned over his husband to claim a kiss.

“Turn over,” he ordered.

Ianto stole a quick kiss then did as he said.  The Welshman’s wonderful back was just begging for him to mark it.

Jack leaned in and began to carefully suck at Ianto’s skin.  He already had the pattern in his mind, his initials, his true initials in the language of Boeshane.  He had marked his husband in this way many times, claimed him.  Jack had even used a future tattoo kit to paint Ianto’s back with dragons woven between his initials.

But Ianto hadn’t been able to keep the tattoo.  They had both still worked for Torchwood then and keeping the tattoo could have put the Welshman into danger.

The love bites he was using now to mark his husband’s skin would fade too swiftly for Jack’s liking but they would have to do for now.

And he couldn’t return the gesture.

Love bites given to Jack were always gone within hours, the same with his one attempt to get himself a tattoo, it wasn’t fair.

“Jack,” Ianto’s concerned voice didn’t quite penetrate his consciousness and he continued to mark out his initials.

He poured his love and perhaps a little of his life into every mark he made on his husband’s back.  The Immortal never wanted Ianto or his initials to fade.

When he finished he sat back to admire his handiwork.  He barely had a chance to notice a few wet patches before Ianto turned to look at him.

“What is it Jack?” the Welshman asked brushing away tears he hadn’t even realised were falling.

“Do you know how many times I’ve done that?  Do you know how many times I’ve claimed you as mine but I cannot do the same for you,” the Immortal confessed his body shaking with tears.

Jack knew it was a foolish thing to weep over but it was just another reminder of his Immortality, that Ianto’s life would always be too short.

Ianto held him and rubbed his back.  When his tears subsided the Welshman pulled away and he felt abandoned.

His husband gently kissed his lips then, after looking him up and down, knelt to kiss a spot on his left thigh, close enough to his groin to feel Ianto’s warmth but not close enough to touch.

When Ianto pulled back there was a panther on the spot that he’d kissed.  It looked like a henna tattoo but the Immortal knew it wasn’t.

“No one can mark your skin Jack, except you,” Ianto said gently.

 _Can you feel what I did, how to make that mark?_ Ianto’s voice was in his head and he could see in his mind exactly what the Welshman had done, how he had persuaded Jack’s skin to darken in itself.

It was only temporary, a demonstration for Jack so that he could see and the Immortal immediately set about making it permanent.

A gentle brush of his cheek brought Jack back to the man in front of him.

“It cannot be seen by an enemy and betray you and will stay there as long as you wish,” Ianto said gently.

 _Forever_ , Jack thought firmly.

“Not forever,” Ianto told him gently.  “After I’m gone, I cannot bear the thought of you being alone.  It will fade when you are ready to move on and perhaps find someone else to leave their mark.”

Ianto placed his fingers to Jack’s lips to prevent him from saying he would never find anyone else as wonderful, anyone else that he would want to mark him.

Jack grabbed Ianto and pulled him into a passionate kiss. 

His hands roamed freely over the Welshman’s back but there was something different about it.  The skin still felt smooth to his touch but something was tingling the Immortal’s nerves.

Ianto pulled back and smiled at his confusion.  His husband moved away from him a little and lay down on his stomach, looking over his shoulder to gage his reaction.

There on Ianto’s back, marked in darkening skin like a henna tattoo, were his initials just the way he always marked them out.

“Thirty-seven,” Ianto said while Jack started.

“What?”

“Thirty-seven times you’ve marked or simply traced out your initials on my back,” the Welshman said smiling.

Unable to stop himself, Jack used a finger to trace the mark, he could feel the tingle at first, then it faded.  There was now no difference between the darker and pale skin to his touch but the sight was breathtaking.

“Thirty-eight,” Ianto said with a contented sigh.

The Welshman looked at him and there was a mischievous glint in his eye.  Jack grabbed the lube and Ianto moved his legs invitingly open.

The Immortal gently inserted a finger into his husband.  As he worked to gently open Ianto, Jack leaned forward and began to trace his initials with his tongue.

He couldn’t tell if the moans coming out of the Welshman’s mouth were caused by his fingers or tongue but he didn’t care as long as he made more.

“Thirty-nine,” Ianto moaned when he reached the end.

Adding another finger Jack began to trace his initials again, this time with kisses.  He paused half way through to add a third finger before continuing.

“Forty.”

Jack hastily withdrew his fingers, slicked up his cock and gently pushed inside.  He stayed still for a moment, lying flush with his husband’s back, shifting his left leg so that his own mark touched Ianto’s skin.

Then he began to move, slowly at first, he wanted to draw out Ianto’s pleasure as much as possible.  He took every opportunity possible to rest his chest upon the initials on his husband’s back.

Jack increased his pace, getting wilder and more erratic as he was spurred on by Ianto’s moans and the knowledge that they had both been marked.

“Mine,” Jack called out as he came.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Ianto shouted before coming seconds later.

 Reluctantly the Immortal withdrew from his husband and Ianto turned around to face him. 

They held each other close, kissing, stroking, until they both suddenly remembered why they couldn’t spend the rest of the afternoon making love.

 

 


	38. Chapter Thirty-eight

Ianto paused just outside the door to the command centre. 

He was sure he looked rumpled and didn’t feel at all good about getting into yesterdays clothes for the second time that day.

Still Jack hadn’t complained about the fact that he had come all over the lining of his coat.  He merely cleaned up most of it with a tissue, then licked it seductively until it freaked Ianto out.

At which point his husband had the nerve to grin and Ianto knew he was being teased.

“Jack when we get in there they’re probably going to tell you a theory they have about me and what we just did.

“Their theory’s wrong but please don’t say anything.  I’ll explain it all to you later.  I don’t have time right now because we have to get to the ExCel Centre before dark,” Ianto said looking in his husband’s eyes.

“I won’t say anything,” Jack promised despite looking and feeling intrigued.

Ianto sighed with relief and entered the command centre.

They were all there except Rhys and most of them were trying not to look accusingly at them.  Martha and Mickey both looked amused and Ianto could tell they had taken advantage of the break in the action.

Ianto didn’t feel at all guilty about what he and Jack had done.  Sure it wasn’t normal for them to have sex in the middle of a crisis, well not that normal, but it had been necessary.

“Are we nearly ready to go?  I’ll make sure everything we need is packed,” Ianto said spotting a large bag of Malteasers in the table and picking it up and opening it.

He turned to see Jack looking at him.  He took a few of the Malteasers, which had melted together in the heat, and popped them into his husband’s mouth.

Ianto then gave Jack a quick kiss and headed towards where the SUV’s were parked.

He knew the others were going to be much happier discussing their theory about the TARDIS teaching the Concept to love without him.

The fact that he knew that they had been talking about didn’t really bother Ianto.  It made him a little uncomfortable that he couldn’t tell the others the truth, but he had the consolation that he could still tell Jack everything.

The Concept in his mind had warned him not to say too much, any of them could potentially be taken over by the Sorlshar and then they would know his secrets.

Not Jack though, the Concept had reassured him that Jack couldn’t be affected by the Sorlshar and he was the only one Ianto didn't want to keep any secrets from.

The Welshman wondered if his immunity had anything to do with his Immortality.  The Concept after all used him to produce living energy and Jack had something similar in him keeping him alive.

Ianto smiled as he remembered exactly how alive Jack was during their lovemaking.  He loved the new level of intimacy that developed between them as he felt his suit brush against his back as he rolled his shoulders.

The thought of the panther on Jack’s inner thigh almost made him turn around and ask for the Immortal to come and assist him, but he stamped on that thought with some regret.

When he got to where they parked the cars he found Rhys checking everything.  Gwen’s husband looked up when he approached and smiled.

“Thank you for the food,” Ianto said holding out the bag of Malteasers only to be surprised at how empty it was.

“Well Martha said you’d be hungry so I thought we should stock up,” Rhys replied carefully taking a chocolate.

“How are you?  Gwen said you went all glowy and that you saved us,” Rhys said conversationally.

“I’m fine.  When the Concept is active I don’t really remember that much,” Ianto replied.

“But you knew something would happen or I wouldn’t be here,” he said reasonably.

“I didn’t _know_ know it was more an instinct of what would happen.  I knew Gwen would want you close and safe,” Ianto replied.

“Well I appreciate it mate but what about the others, the UNIT people?”

“I don’t know and the Doctor can’t reach them but we’re going to go and find out,” Ianto promised him and Rhys nodded understanding.

Ianto really like Gwen’s husband; he was kind, generous, fun and very ordinary, very down to earth.  Given everything that happened to the ex-PC on a regular basis, having a man like Rhys was good for her.

Since retiring form Torchwood Ianto had gotten to know Rhys a lot better.  With Jack still occasionally doing missions they would get together to plot a way to make their spouses forget their hard days at work.

They also swapped recipes and Rhys helped Ianto sometimes with his work at Powell House as well as with the other charities he now did things for.

In return Ianto sometimes joined his fellow Welshman for a night of drinking and watching the rugby.

Rhys also wasn’t treating Ianto like he was delicate, like he was special, and he was grateful for that because he really didn’t like the spotlight this situation had thrown him into.

The others appeared moments later and Ianto got into the SUV.  Jack appeared next to him looking concerned.

Ianto could tell that he had figured out exactly what was wrong with Martha’s theory about him, the TARDIS and the Concept.  However Gwen, Rhys and the Doctor soon got into the back so Jack didn’t ask.

“Let me know if you get hungry,” the Immortal said instead waving a packet of danishes flirtatiously.

“Temptress,” Ianto accused with a smile and started the car.

It was weird driving through the trafficless streets of London.  He remembered working here, you couldn’t realistically drive a car and that was before you had to pay the congestion charge as well.

Now he was speeding the wrong way down streets to get to the South Bank.

The journey seemed to take ages but the thrill on Jack’s face indicated that they had positively flown there.

Without warning Ianto stopped the car.

They were lucky that Mickey was slightly more cautious and had fallen far enough behind to break without hitting them.

“What’s wrong?” Jack asked as Ianto stared at the ExCel centre.

“The Sorlshar are inside, they are keeping Major Brandan’s people the way they’re keeping those in the stations.  We have to get them out,” Ianto announced stepping out of the car.

 


	39. Chapter Thirty-nine

The Doctor swiftly followed Ianto out of the car.  The Welshman stood still staring at the exhibition centre.

“Ianto what do you mean they’re keeping them the same way as those in the stations?  Does that mean they have hosts?  Does that mean some don’t have Sorlshar?  Is there a black cloud about to attack us?” Gwen asked before the Doctor could say anything.

The Time Lord couldn’t help notice that she was holding very tightly to Rhys.  If Ianto hadn’t told Marcus and Eversleigh to take him to St. Paul’s, then Gwen’s husband would have been in there.

The others got out of the second SUV and joined them.  The fact that none of them asked why they stopped confirmed that they had been listening over their comms.

“The Sorlshar attacked this place last night, some have been taken as hosts but most are prisoners waiting to be experimented on or tortured for information.  There are no un-hosted Sorlshar though,” Ianto replied turning to them.

“Why not?” the Doctor asked.

“The Sorlshar and the Concept have faced each other many times they know certain things about each other.  The Sorlshar know that the Concept will always try to save the hosts it takes if she can,” Ianto began.

“Last night the Concept destroyed about a three quarters of the Sorlshar that came after us, it could have destroyed all of them but the Concept is always cautious until she knows all the facts, until it knows how to save the hosts, so the focus was on protecting us.”

Something nagged in the back of the Time Lord’s mind.  Something that Ianto had said that was bothering him, but he kept silent as the Welshman continued.

“While all of those stations are main line commuter stations, they are also London Underground stations, with tunnels to escape in.  Here there’s just the DLR, no tunnels,” Ianto finished.

“So what’s the plan?” Gwen asked.

“We can’t leave Brandon’s people in there, I have to go in,” Ianto said.

“Do you know where they are?” the Doctor asked.

“I can’t tell for certain and the Sorlshar are bound to be waiting for us,” the Welshman replied.

Jack moved protectively closer to his husband, the Doctor could see his hands twitching to grab Ianto and pull him into an embrace.

“We’ll protect you,” Jack promised and Ianto smiled.

It took a few moments for everyone to gear up.  All of them took weapons except the Doctor and Rhys, thought Martha and Ianto only took a single stun gun and a knife each.

Jack reassured the Time Lord that most of the weapons were designed to incapacitate not kill; they all knew the hosts were innocent.

Martha took a medical kit in her backpack and Ianto had a bag full of other equipment which Jack offered to carry.  The Welshman refused his offer with a smile and a kiss.

Those two seemed to be more touchy feely every time the Doctor saw them, he wasn’t just talking about between TARDIS trips, he was talking every time they came back from wherever they had snuck off to do private husbandy things.

Ianto led the way towards the centre though he stopped to let the Doctor give the place a quick scan with the Sonic.  The Time Lord had the impression that the Welshman was humouring him; that he knew exactly what they would find inside.

That was a worrying thought as they opened the door and went in. 

_Could Ianto really know what was about to happen? And if he did, was it because of the Concept or because of the TARDIS?_

As soon as the Time Lord stepped inside it felt like a trap.

The inside ExCel Centre had a long indoor boulevard illuminated with artificial light which had openings on both sides to the various Exhibition halls that were functional enough to host anything from a cross stitch convention to a motor show.

When they arrived yesterday the central boulevard was a hive of activity with soldiers moving from one conference hall to another as they gave updates on the six stations and the Torchwood Tower.

Then they drew level with the first two conference halls there was just the blinking lights and background hum of the computers inside.

Marcus and Eversleigh guarded the entrance to the hall on the left while the rest went inside to search but there was no one lurking inside.

The Doctor wanted to linger, wanted to check the readings and find out more about the Sorlshar and their possible plans to take over the world, but he knew their priority was finding Brandan and her people.

They searched several more conference halls before they reached the main Command Centre.  All of them looked at each other when they searched the place and found it empty.

The Doctor looked at Ianto as walked around the room.  The Welshman barely glanced at the screens which seemed odd until he remembered that Jack’s husband was processing information much faster than normal.

The security screens drew the Time Lord’s attention.  He never noticed Ianto making a few adjustments on one of the control panels.

“I’ve found Brandan and the rest of her team.  They’re in a conference hall surrounded by guards right at the end of the building.  I can also see your Doctor Lomax and Chris Sanders but there’s no sign of Sam Llewellyn,” the Doctor added turning to Gwen.

“He’ll be at the Torchwood Tower,” Ianto said darkly.  “I can’t see any of Brandan’s technical geniuses either.”

None of them needed to ask what that meant.

There were no arguments when they continued to search the conference rooms.  They were all waiting for the Sorlshar to strike.

“Look out.” They were nearly at the end of the ExCel Centre when the attack happened from all sides at once.  The Doctor couldn’t tell who had given the alarm cry.

The Time Lord cursed himself as he realised that some of the Sorlshar had been waiting outside the centre, they had entered behind them as there was no one to guard the entrance.

They were all UNIT soldiers, they all looked normal apart from the slightly vacant faces combined with anger in their eyes, and they were all armed.

All the guns were aimed at Ianto.  They were all raised, ready to fire.

Mickey moved before the rest of them.

The UNIT soldiers all fired but there was no noise and only Mickey went down.  Martha cried but there was no blood pouring from her husband, only a dart sticking out of his shoulder.

Eversleigh moved seconds later, and took out the man who was holding the tranquiliser with one of his own.

All the rest were look looking down at their guns stupidly wondering why they wouldn’t fire.

“The Sontaran ionic field, its standard protocol now to have one in all field bases where there is a chance of being overcome by hostiles.  No guns will work,” Martha said quietly.

The Doctor immediately found himself being bundled into the centre of a circle of the others with Rhys, Ianto and the unconscious Mickey. 

It was only a matter of time before they figured out what had happened and go for hand to hand combat.

The attack came swiftly with the UNIT soldiers drawing knives. 

The defenders shot as many as they could with tranquilisers but they ran out of darts and there were still soldiers coming.    Then all but Martha drew their knives, she still had her stun gun.

 “Stay down,” Ianto said quietly to Rhys handing him a knife, he did not look happy about being kept in the circle. 

Gwen’s husband did not look any happier than his fellow Welshman but a glance at Mickey and a nod confirmed that he would stay and defend the unconscious man.

Ianto stood, challenged the Doctor to say something with a look before drawing his stun gun turning away to watch the others.

They Doctor stood on the other side of Mickey and Rhys, trying to keep an eye on what was happening.

He was distracted for a second when Martha cried out in pain and Ianto left them.

“Ianto no,” Jack cried out in alarm and was saved from being stabbed only by Gwen’s swift action.

The Welshman moved away from all of them and the UNIT soldiers turned to follow.

Marcus took Ianto’s place guarding Rhys and Mickey while the rest moved to put themselves between Ianto and the soldiers.

The Doctor stood a little apart from the fighting.  It was obvious now that the soldiers didn’t care about anyone except the Concept’s host.

Ianto however was defending himself very well, despite losing his stun gun within the first few minutes.

The Time Lord felt grateful to the Guardian who had inflicted the Concept on Ianto, that at least he had fully trained him first.

Ianto’s fighting style was a combination of techniques.  The Doctor found himself ridiculously identifying each one from both Nemin and Earth martial arts. 

There were a few moves he was certain Jack had taught him, and a couple of dirty ones that he assumed were probably Saturday Night Newport Specials.

“Enough,” a voice called out and instantly all the fighting stopped.

The Doctor turned to the voice and realised he had been so busy watching Ianto fight, that he had missed seeing one of the possessed soldiers grab Gwen.

The soldier, a Captain, held a knife to her throat.


	40. Chapter Forty

Jack felt his heart pounding in his throat and the UNIT captain dragged Gwen away from the rest of them. The possessed soldiers retreated and formed a circle around them.

The Captain’s eyes were solely on Ianto as he circled around.

The Immortal could hear a cry and a scuffle behind him.  He knew that Rhys was on his feet, wanting to go to his wife.  Jack just hoped that Marcus was able to stop him doing anything stupid.

“Stop Rhys,” Gwen called out to her husband and by the sound of it he did.

“Captain Turner, George, you don’t want to do this.  We’ve worked together remember, in Bristol when a couple of Nareks got on a train and left Cardiff, we tracked them down together,” Gwen said to the man holding a knife to her throat, her voice surprisingly calm.

“Yes I want to do this,” Turner said pulling at Gwen, making her cry out.

“You will surrender yourself to us,” he said looking at Ianto.

“No,” Jack cried stepping forward.

Ianto held out a hand to halt him and Gwen let another cry of pain escape her lips.  Jack turned to the Doctor but the Time Lord just stood there transfixed.

“George please don’t do this,” Gwen pleaded.

“No I do want to.  You see they’ve promised me power, such power and he is the only one standing in the way.  We will put the puppet in isolation, find out how it works and kill it were there is no chance of reprieve,” Turner said gleefully.

“You will surrender or we will kill all of them.”

“Don’t Ianto, you have to save the planet you can’t surrender,” Gwen with only a small glance of apology at the man she loved.

“Oh but he has to, he has no choice.  The thing inside him values life, despite the destruction it is capable of.  It cannot let you die by our hand it will surrender,” Turner said pressing the knife in enough to make her squeak.

“Whatever the thing inside you is offering you Captain Turner it’s lying.  It’s using you to get what it wants, then it will consume you,” the Doctor said at last but he didn’t move forward.

“You will surrender,” Turner said ignoring the Time Lord’s words.

“No,” Ianto said softly.

“Do you think we bluff?  Do you think we will not kill everyone in this building to destroy the thing inside you?”

“I believe your intentions are sincere but it isn’t a threat you can carry out,” Ianto replied.

Jack tensed knowing that Turner was going to draw blood now.  He wasn’t bluffing he would hurt Gwen to further prove his point.

Only there was no blood.  Turner’s hand was shaking and he looked down at it in horror.

Ianto raised his hand out to Gwen as Turner’s suddenly threw the knife away from her and let go.  The Welshwoman moved towards her friend enough to get out of the Captain’s grasp then at a nod rushed passed him and down to Rhys.

“What have you done? Turner asked afraid.

“Do you think I was chosen to protect the Concept because I looked cute in my school uniform?” Ianto asked.

The Welshman took a few steps forward and suddenly Turner was lifted into the air.  Then Jack noticed that his husband was no longer walking on the ground.

“Some of Gwen’s greatest qualities Sorlshar are her ability to distract and her ability to appeal to a person’s humanity.  You ignored her but Captain Turner he listened.

“I will not let you enslave this planet or hurt my people.  I am going to find out what you’re up to, I’m going to stop you and I am going to destroy all of you,” Ianto said looking deep into the eyes which were now solid black.

“You cannot stop us you will surrender and the universe will be ours to own,” the Sorlshar snarled back.

“You tried to hurt a friend of mine your pawns are all forfeit,” Ianto said ignoring the threat.

“There is nothing you can do except kill them and I know you won’t do that,” the Sorlshar sneered.

“Felicity,” Ianto said softly.

The Sorlshar laughed and then stopped.  His eyes grew wide and Ianto began to glow.

“No, no,” the Sorlshar began to scream before a light emerged from Ianto’s heart and entered his mouth.

Turner continued to scream as other lights emerged from the Welshman and headed towards the other Sorlshar.

Looking at them Jack thought that they all wanted to run but were transfixed on the spot.  He thought he could hear Ianto’s voice whispering names and each of their captors gave a cry of anguish before the light entered.

“My god the people in the stations you must save them,” Turner croaked.

Ianto nodded and rose in the air, higher this time.  Jack’s hand flew to his mouth as his husband approached the roof.

A section of the roof lifted away and Ianto left through it.  Jack ran to look up through the hole but all he could see was light.

It took him a few moments to realise that the Doctor was at his side also looking up.  Jack saw that there was a huge grin on the Time Lord’s face and something inside him relaxed.

The light stopped being so blinding; although it still looked more like daylight than night outside.  Jack saw something approaching and knew it was Ianto before he descended, replacing the roof as he landed.

Ianto’s body still glowed with the light of the Concept.

“It’s alright, rest now,” Ianto said gently to those that had been under the control of the Sorlshar, his voice higher than normal.

As one their cries began to lessen and they began to fall asleep.

“Tell Major Brandon that her people can evacuate the stations but we couldn’t penetrate the Torchwood Tower and some of the unhosted escaped underground,” the voice of the Concept told Jack and the Doctor.

Then the light faded and Ianto blinked before he smiled at Jack.

“I forgot how much that hurt,” the Welshman said before he collapsed into his husband’s arms.


	41. Chapter Forty-one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in posting. I was intending to post these chapters yesterday but I ended up being tight for time before I left the house so I couldn't post them in the morning and then forgot. I hope you enjoy.

“I thought you said that the Concept wouldn’t hurt him,” Jack said accusingly at the Doctor as he lowered his husband to the ground before sitting beside him and pulling Ianto’s head into his lap.

“It can’t,” the Time Lord replied giving the Welshman a scan with the Sonic Screwdriver.

“Yes, I think the Concept is helping with the swelling or his ability to heal has been sped up along with everything else. 

“The swelling was caused by Ianto’s little demonstration of telekinesis, the one before the Concept took charge,” the Doctor added when he saw the thunderous look on Jack’s face.

“What?  Are you saying that Ianto can move objects with his mind?” Gwen said in disbelief.

The Time Lord looked over at her, she looked shaken but she was being held by Rhys like he was her lifeline.

“There is nothing about that in his medical record,” Martha said.

“And yet the idea isn’t shocking to you Jack,” the Doctor said looking at the Immortal.

Jack lowered his head acknowledging the truth of the Time Lord’s words.

“Ianto as you know was in Torchwood One’s psychic research programme.  He had always had a sense of awareness, perhaps that’s what attracted the Guardians of Nemin.

“He wasn’t making much progress until about six/eight months before the battle of Canary Wharf then they started to increase exponentially,” Jack said quietly.

Standing over him the Doctor stiffened.  The Immortal’s eyes though were only for his husband and didn’t notice.

“It happened to several of them so they put it down to an encounter with some alien tech,” Jack continued not noticing how still the Time Lord had become.

Guiltily the Doctor looked around at the others to see if they’d noticed.  Only Martha looked at him, knowing he knew something more.

The Time Lord ignored her and hoped she wouldn’t ask, especially not in front of Jack.

“Ianto wasn’t really sure when it started because of the headaches but he discovered he could move objects with his mind, nothing larger than a spanner though.

“During the trauma of the battle he lost all his abilities, though of course some have come back,” Jack said stroking Ianto’s face.

“The Concept will have re-opened all his abilities and given him the energy required to lift Turner.  I suspect getting the knife away from Gwen was either Ianto controlling his hand or giving Turner enough free will to control it himself,” the Doctor said thoughtfully.

“What about them are they okay?  Are they safe?” Gwen asked pointing at the fallen recently possessed.

The Time Lord immediately went to Turner and scanned him with his sonic screwdriver.  He then went to all the others and did the same.

“I’m not detecting any Sorlshar energy about them, just a trace of Concept energy.  They’ll be traumatised and badly weakened by the experience but otherwise they should fine,” the Doctor pronounced.

“You sound surprised,” Jack accused.

“The Concepts have tried many times to free hosts from Sorlshar but I have only heard of a few rare cases where they succeeded saving one or two people at most.  If Ianto’s Concept is to be believed then it’s freed thousands, that’s unheard of.”

“It’s the longest surviving Concept perhaps it learnt something during that time,” Gwen suggested.

“Perhaps,” the Doctor said thoughtfully.

“Either way shouldn’t we be getting Ianto, Mickey and all these poor sods somewhere more comfortable?  From what you’ve just said they’re likely to need medical attention,” Rhys pointed out and the Doctor smiled.

Rhys was probably the least experienced person here when it comes to alien encounters, yet he just saw a friend glowing, floating and lifting someone with his mind and what concerned him most was that he was given a chance to recover.

“Your...”

“Doctor,” the voice of Major Brandon interrupted him.

The Time Lord turned to see her and several of her people, armed and looking frightened.  They seemed wary but their weapons were lowered.

“What’s going on?  We saw a dark cloud coming but there was nowhere to escape to.  It possessed some of my people and they rounded us up and brought us back.

“Then there was a light, was it some sort of weapon?” she asked her voice shocked.

As one they all deliberately didn’t look at Ianto.  The Doctor felt all eyes on him to explain the situation.

“Yes the light is some sort of weapon it has destroyed the Sorlshar, that’s what the dark cloud is, within your people.  They will be traumatised by the experience, tired and prone to illness for a while so they need medical attention to help recover.

“You will also be able to do the same for the people at the stations, evacuate them, get them medical help.  Unfortunately the Sorlshar still have a hold of Canary Wharf,” the Doctor explained.

“Were Mr Harkness-Jones and Mr Smith possessed?” she asked.

“No they weren’t possessed by the Sorlshar.  Mickey’s been shot with a tranquiliser dart and Ianto was knocked out trying to save your people,” the Doctor replied.

He knew he probably could have told Major Brandon more of the truth but he didn’t want Ianto coming under UNIT scrutiny.  The Welshman had suffered enough and for longer than the Time Lord had suspected before.

Brandon nodded and then spurred into action directing her people.  She gave instructions for the possessed and injured to be placed in the hotels attached to the ExCel Centre.

The Doctor when over to Jack and helped him stand and then lift Ianto.  He felt a pang of hurt once the Immortal was on his feet and he pulled the Welshman away.

The Time Lord turned to check on Martha and Mickey.  She gave him a look that said they needed to talk before directing the soldiers helping her.

“...fortunate that we still have our medical staff, it seems they were only interested in the tech staff.  I’m sorry about Mr. Llewellyn,” Major Brandon was saying as the Doctor tuned in.

“I’m sorry about your people too,” Gwen replied.

The Major nodded and then a frown marred her brow.

“What?”

“I know the name and face of everyone on my team but I don’t recognise him or those two.  You know even with the techs here there are more people here than there should be,” she replied.

“Perhaps they came from one of the stations as reinforcements,” the Doctor suggested.

“Or Mile End stadium,” Gwen added and the Time Lord looked at her puzzled.

“Remember Major Brandon told us that the people from the trains that escaped who were acting like those in the police reports were rounded up and detained in Mile End Stadium,” Gwen said her smile asking the Major to be amused at his forgetfulness, while her eyes pointed out that Ianto hadn’t mentioned it.

“Could be,” the Doctor acknowledged.

“Doctor why didn’t your weapon work against those in Canary Wharf?” the Major asked.

“The Torchwood Tower has additional shielding, I suspect we’re going to have to go there personally to use it,” he replied gently.

“In the meantime I really need to know what’s going on out there right now and as I’m the only technical person we have until Mickey wakes up I’d better get cracking,” the Doctor said cheerfully with a loud clap.

“Of course,” the Major said nodding and the Doctor headed for the Command Centre before Gwen could ask him any more questions.

 

 


	42. Chapter Forty-two

Ianto Harkness-Jones was aware that something was wrong as soon as he woke.  He was naked in a soft bed and Jack wasn’t with him.

He bolted upright and saw Jack sitting at the foot of the bed, his back stiff and tense.  Ianto got out from under the covers to sit next to him but he didn’t relax.

“Is this the part where we eat and have sex,” Jack said waving an angry arm at a plate of food.

“You said Martha’s theory was wrong, that you would explain why later.  So I only half listened and nodded politely because you were going to explain and because I wanted to focus on looking after you because you’re important.

“I don’t mean to the universe because of the current crisis; I mean to me, your more important to me than the universe,” Jack said looking at Ianto for the first time and the Welshman’s heart ached to see the confusion and pain on his husband’s face.

“Something Rhys said when he brought the sandwiches reminded me of Martha’s theory, that the TARDIS has been making you horny to teach the Concept love.

“Martha just didn't go back far enough did she.  We’ve all been wondering about the effect of the Concept had on a five year old boy and you told me, a few weeks of nightmares.

“They should have been thinking about the effect of a five year old boy on the Concept.  You would have been old enough to have your own personality but young enough to still be learning about the world, about morality and your society.

“You gave the Concept consciousness, you told me yourself, the Concept was your imaginary friend and you gave her a part of your mind to inhabit.

“She doesn’t need to be taught love because you know how to love,” Jack said reasoning it out.  Then he looked at Ianto and his face held anger again.

“The TARDIS would have known that and I know you’re not the sort of person who seeks pleasure in a crisis so why did she have us making love?

“You see I can believe it when you said that she didn’t fancy me, I guess I broke your heart to many times for her to like me, I don’t like me for that, so why?” Jack asked his voice hurt.

“I didn’t realise until I realised I knew Martha’s theory and why,” Ianto said with a sigh.

He was feeling numb inside.  All the closeness he had been feeling for the last few days, it had been real, but he couldn’t help feeling that it would soon be over.

 “If it’s any consolation she forgave you when you kidnapped me, it proved to her that you really did love me,” Ianto said quietly.

He spotted a mini bar and without realising quite what he was doing he opened it with his mind.  He lifted out two scotches, opened them, poured each into a glass and called the glasses to him.

As the glasses floated from the dressing table to them Ianto thought that it was such a frivolous use of his ability but he’d done it without thinking.

As soon as they gripped the glasses, Ianto’s head began to pound with pain.  It was wearing off quickly though, much quicker than before.

Still the headache lasted long enough for Jack to take the glass from his hand and set it down.  Ianto then felt familiar fingers massaging his scalp.

The tension in him began to relax under the movement of those fingers.  He could smell Jack so close to him, arousing him.

Ianto jumped up away from Jack as he realised he was getting hard.

“I’m sorry I...” Ianto had deflated before he even said the words but he felt panic, felt that he had just done the wrong thing, ruined everything with Jack and he wanted to get away but he couldn’t decide which way to flee.

“It’s alright Ianto, it’s alright,” Jack said soothingly.

In truth it was the feel of Jack’s fingers tracing the initials on Ianto’s back that calmed him.  His husband wouldn’t do that if he had ruined everything.

Jack moved Ianto to sit back down on the bed.  As soon as he did so the Welshman’s stomach growled.

“Hungry?” Jack asked still moving his fingers over the pattern on his husband’s back.

“No,” Ianto lied though his stomach betrayed him despite his not feeling in the mood to eat.

Jack just chuckled and grabbed the plate of sandwiches.  He took one and put it to Ianto’s lips making encouraging gestures until the Welshman opened his mouth and he could pop it inside.

Reluctantly Ianto ate the sandwich and without realising it ate another.  Jack ate a few himself and the Welshman began to feel ready to talk.

“Apart from my awareness I always felt there was something unnatural about my psychic abilities.  I know it’s what Torchwood One was aiming for but...

“Everyone at One knew about my abilities towards the end.  I would see them looking at me like I was... not right,” Ianto finished hoping in vain that Jack wouldn’t hear ‘a freak’ or wrong’ instead.

“My abilities never bothered Lisa, not until towards the end when I would occasionally say something and she realised that I was unconsciously reading her.

“I was glad after the battle when I realise I didn’t have my abilities anymore, relieved,” Ianto said lowering his head and putting the sandwich he had been eating aside.

The Welshman turned to look his husband in the face.

“I’ve never felt that way with you; in fact it’s you who triggered the return of my abilities.  That first Christmas after what happened, I wanted you to feel how wonderful I saw you, how much I cared though I had no idea I was transmitting.

“You didn’t feel at all repulsed, you never have and that first time you were so... you really enjoyed it,” Ianto finished lamely.

“Are you kidding I was hungry for your feelings.  All the terrible things that happened that year, the dark place I’d been living in and there was you pouring love into me.  I wasn’t ready to acknowledge what it was, but I wanted the way you felt about me.

“Besides I’ve met quite a few telepaths in my time, I’ve been trained to keep you out if I wanted and would never want that,” Jack said sincerely.

The Immortal had moved closer to his husband, put an arm around him and held the Welshman close.  Ianto tried not to cling as he put his arms around Jack but it was a relief to know that he was still loved.

“As you know I was trained to keep secrets safe,” Ianto said after they had held each other for a few minutes.

“I was taught two different ways, my Archivist mental training taught me to hide inside myself but my Psychic training taught me to...”

“Leave,” Jack interrupted.

“Aboard the Valiant, you weren’t there when he hurt you, I felt you go,” Jack explained quietly.

Ianto moved closer and his hand moved between the Immortal’s thighs to rub the panther he had taught Jack to put there.

It was such a simple thing, getting your skin to darken in a certain way.  It was something the Concept had taught him, a request from a former master, but Ianto hadn’t needed her to change a slave brand into a love mark.

“Yes.  I only did it a few times before the battle.  I could step outside myself and wander through places I wasn’t really allowed to go and when I got back I remembered everything as though I’d actually been standing there,” Ianto said feeling such wonder at what he’d been able to do that he didn’t see the frown that marred Jack’s face for a few seconds before he dismissed the thought.

“When we make love Jack I’m at my most open and aware.  You ground me, I am with you, you’re the only universe that matters to me,” Ianto said looking his husband in the eye again as he echoed his earlier words.

“The Concept on the other hand...

“When I said she withdraws from my consciousness I meant that when we were making love I was no longer aware of her presence.

“I realise now of course that what’s actually been happening is that when we’re making love, she’s using my ability to step outside myself to leave and do a reconnaissance mission to find out how the Sorlshar are doing.  Then when she comes back I remember,” Ianto explained looking down sheepishly.

“You’re telling me that the Concept is making you horny so that she can go out spying without you,” Jack said.

“Yes.”

“And it doesn’t bother you?”

“I feel less guilty about all the crisis sex now that I know why and I don’t think she forced me only nudged me a little.  I don’t think it would have worked if my feelings for you weren’t genuine,” Ianto said reasonably but the look on Jack’s face said that he didn’t think what the Concept had done was in any way right.

“Jack if she didn’t care we’d be having sex right now instead of this conversation.  It would be very useful for her to go spying but she isn’t making us is she?” Ianto asked seriously and waited for his husband to nod in acknowledgement before continuing.

“You’re all worried about me, about the fact that my mind gets overridden by her while she does her stuff, yet those are the only moments when she can exercise free will.

“We hosts we aren’t really guardians we’re jailors.  Letting her think in an unused part of my mind is a more generous gift than any of my predecessors have ever given her.

“Sometimes when I hear her in my head, I say what she’s thinking because that’s the only way her voice is heard.  She knows every experience of my life as I lived it without being able participate herself.

“When we make love and she leaves, she gets to be in the world without me but she can’t touch it, can’t speak to anyone,” Ianto said feeling deep pity for the alien idea trapped in his mind.

“And what happens to the two of you when this is over?” Jack asked seriously.

“I don’t...”

“What?” the Immortal asked with concern when the Welshman trailed off.

“I think it depends on whether or not I fulfil my promise to the TARDIS.  If I do then everything with work out for the best and if I fail it won’t matter for other reasons,” Ianto said solemnly.

Jack shivered and pulled his husband closer.

“When this is over can we go away?  Can we travel the world like we did when we first got married?” Jack asked quietly.

“I would love that,” Ianto replied smiling genuinely for the first since he woke.

The Immortal nodded and grabbed another sandwich to feed his husband.  They sat, then lay on the bed, just holding each other, until one of Brandan’s soldiers came to get them.

 


	43. Chapter Forty-three

The Doctor was deeply engrossed in the readings he was getting when he heard footsteps approaching.

“I’m a bit busy right now but a cup of tea would be nice,” he called out.

“We thought a tea break was in order so we brought some with us,” Martha replied and the Time Lord turned.

Mickey stood by her side looking a little tired but stern.  There was no one else in the room and the doors were closed.

The Doctor turned back to the computer; it was obviously time for the conversation her eyes had promised earlier.

That was one of the things he sometimes found endearing about humans, they were in the middle of a crisis but they still felt there was time to have a serious chat about what was going on in their lives. 

“We want to talk to you about what’s going on between you and Ianto,” Martha said.

Of course today, because the conversation was to be about him, the Doctor found it irritating rather than endearing.

“Me and Ianto,” the Time Lord scoffed dismissively without looking at them.

“I’m not saying Ianto would ever be unfaithful to Jack but the way you look at him when you think there’s no-one watching.  You’re protective of him and the hurt in your eyes when Jack keeps him from you...” Marth began.

“And what about Mickey?” the Doctor snapped defensively, turning at last to face them.

“What about Mickey?” Martha asked coldly.

“I’m sorry but for someone who claims to be a friend who hardly knows Ianto you’ve done an awful lot for him.  He stayed with you to look after Gwen and Torchwood when Ianto and Jack were on the run, he stayed away from the wedding, he left you, his wife for months to investigate something at the Torchwood Tower and the way he took that tranquiliser for him, though granted right now he is important and I don’t know what effect a sedative would have had on the Concept,” the Doctor babbled.

Throughout the whole tirade Mickey calmly poured tea for the three of them.  Martha on the other hand looked ready to hit the Time Lord.

“I haven’t lied,” Mickey said touching Martha’s shoulder.

She started at the touch but smiled at her husband and accepted the tea.  Mickey handed the Time Lord his cup before continuing.

“I do hardly know Ianto Harkness-Jones.  We met once in the Torchwood Tower and I hadn’t really gotten to know him well enough since my return to make me comfortable accepting the wedding invitation.

“I do know that Ianto has a brilliant mind and he studies things.  Because of that, when he said he thought that Firebrand were up to something dangerous, I knew he would be right.  I think though his instincts were homing in on the Temporal Distorter though not your Box of Oncreath,” Mickey concluded perching calmly on the table.

When put that way the Time Lord felt guilty about the accusation, especially as it hurt Martha.  It was just that he didn’t really want her to know the reason why he was so protective of Ianto.

“I did however know the Ianto Jones from Pete’s Universe very well,” Mickey added surprising the Doctor.

Martha sat close beside him on the table.  She obviously knew this story and the Time Lord felt a little foolish when he joined them.

“He was a scientist; think of all that brilliance in routing out alien conspiracies channelled into physics, it made him a genius with several doctorates.

“After the Cybermen disappeared Jake and I were assigned to baby sit him.  He and Professor Toshiko Sato were the ones who made the Dimension Jump Technology we used to cross between the Universes work.

“Imagine my shock when I infiltrated the Torchwood here and discovered there was another Ianto Jones, a psychic whose approval I needed to stay,” the Londoner’s voice conveyed that surprise well. 

The Doctor smiled remembering meeting alternative versions of some of his closest friends, although that meeting wasn’t as amenable as Mickey’s meeting with an alternative Ianto.

“He knew didn’t he,” the Londoner stated.

“Yes, he told me you saw him just before a ghost shift and stayed with him until it was over.  Ianto said he knew exactly who you were, thought I’d sent you and let you pass his security check because he thought trouble was coming,” the Doctor replied with a smile.

“And he was right,” Mickey said with a smile that faded too quickly.

“After we got back to the other Universe, Rose bullied him into working on the Dimensional Cannon.

“Ianto was a geeky scientist, brilliant but in some ways very naive.  He let her force him into working on the project because she was my friend and he wanted to help her,” the bitterness in Mickey’s voice surprised the Doctor, he knew how much the other man had once cared for Rose.

After a pause Mickey continued, his voice full of sorrow and mourning.

“When word got out that the Universe was dying, people noticed the stars going out.  There was chaos and a number fanatical cults were started.

“One group managed to Infiltrate the Torchwood facility where the Dimensional Cannon was being built.  Ianto was badly injured in the attack but managed to isolate himself.

“He kept working on perfecting the Cannon, despite his injuries, and he succeeded, he got it to work but it took the last of his strength.  I arrived in time to be with him when he died.”

Mickey’s eyes were no longer seeing him, they were with the friend he had cared for and lost.

The Doctor could hear Davros’ taunt that he had turned his companions into soldiers.  He felt guilty for inspiring Rose to push the other Ianto.

Martha’s hand was in his, her arm around her husband comforting him.

“You, your double and Donna may have saved the universe from Davros and the Daleks but without Ianto, Rose would never have been able to warn you.

“I couldn’t save him, but I...” Mickey said looking at his wife, “....we can do what we can for this Ianto.”

They were both turned to him now and the Doctor understood why they wanted answers.  They were looking out for Ianto and Jack, wanted to make sure he wasn’t about to do something to hurt them, like he had once hurt Mickey by taking Rose with him.

The Doctor felt guilty, had never wanted Martha to know but he supposed she had the right to know and now she was asking to.

“I am so sorry,” the Time Lord said looking into Martha’s eyes, “But what I’m about to tell you, you must promise never to tell Jack,” they exchanged glances, “or Ianto.”

Mickey and Martha looked at each other again but this time in confusion before nodding their agreement.

“I assume you’ve told Mickey about the year that never was,” the Doctor said sadly, her eyes widened them Martha nodded.

“Jack didn’t tell us about his involvement with Torchwood until we returned to Earth.  So when the Master arrived and started to become Harold Saxon he didn’t know about them,” the Doctor began.

“Before that journalist noticed him, Ianto figured out he didn’t belong.”

“That was his job,” Mickey said quietly.

“Yes it was, and the Archangel Network’s hypnotic rhythm didn’t work on him.  Torchwood detained the Master but he convinced them he was benevolent, a valuable ally, one that could help.

“In exchange for his freedom and meeting the one who noticed him, he told them he could improve their operatives psychic abilities and probably helped with some of their alien tech too,” the Doctor said darkly.

“So it wasn’t alien tech that caused the jump Ianto’s psychic ability was the Master,” Martha said in shock.

“Yes, only with Ianto more happened than just improving his psychic skills.  A quirk of his awareness, possibly due to his living on the Rift, maybe even the presence of the Concept, meant that whenever Ianto got near the Master the drums in his head stopped.”

“What?” Martha said in surprise.  The Doctor nodded and continued.

“He said they always silenced as soon as he got near to Ianto.  When I heard that I was grateful for the first time for the power Torchwood One possessed.  Individually their agents weren’t a problem but together they were enough to make the Master cautious.

“He didn’t want to show any sign of weakness, so all he did was improve Ianto’s ability, put a few subconscious instructions in his mind and gather data to improve the effectiveness of Archangel,” the Doctor said voice dead.

He thought it best to leave out the part about the Master nudging Ianto’s abilities to feel more like a Time Lord’s.  He didn't want them getting the wrong idea about how he always felt a little of his home whenever he was around the Welshman.

The Doctor looked at Mickey.

“The Master didn’t know about the battle of Canary Wharf.  He also underestimated Ianto’s love for Lisa.

“Torch wood Three was the last place the Master wanted Ianto to go because he couldn’t allow anything to interfere with Jack running after us and sending us to the end of the Universe.

“He didn’t wait long though,” the Doctor said turning to Martha again.

“Not long after I left you with your family, I found myself in Cardiff a few days after Jack left.  I used the perception filter to try not to be a temporal paradox but I landed the TARDIS in Ianto’s living room so he knew and she refused to leave.

“The Master came to Cardiff during his election campaign.  I think he tried to summon Ianto at that moment when he was vulnerable, I shudder to think what would have happened if I hadn’t been there to stop Ianto going to him,” the Doctor said doing just that, managing to jolt his whole body.

The Time Lord decided he should leave the story there.  She didn’t really need to know what happened next.

“Go on I have to know,” Martha said firmly, knowing he was about to be evasive and not letting him as always.

“Ianto was the last member of Torchwood to be captured.  The Master made us, Jack, your family and me watch as he raped, tortured and killed Ianto’s body.”

An angry noise came from Mickey’s throat at the same moment a horrified gasp came from Martha.

 “It’s probably of small comfort for you to know that Ianto defied him even then.  He stepped his mind outside of his body, all the Master had was a shell,” the Time Lord said hastily.

“That’s not much of a comfort,” Mickey said.

“What happened next,” Martha pushed knowing he was going to try and stop the story again.

“Probably because of the changes the Master made or by deliberate intent on the Master’s part, when Ianto’s mind left his body it got trapped in the Archangel Network. 

“He could watch like the rest of us on the Valiant but it was some time before he had the strength to manifest but when he gained a semi-corporeal form, he picked his moment well,” the Doctor said looking at Martha.

“No,” she said quietly and this time it was Mickey who held her hand and put his arm around his wife in comfort.

“For Jack, Ianto provided the distraction you needed to escape New York.  Afterwards he came to see me, warned me that the Master had noticed my presence as an anomaly in the Archangel Network and that he was coming to erase Ianto’s consciousness.

“A few minutes later he did just that.  I took my mind out of the network while the Master deleted Ianto’s spirit and then put myself back so seamlessly that he never detected it.

“That was the only time since our childhood that I have ever seen the Master regret what he’d done for the sake of another, the only time I saw him mourn,” the Doctor said quietly, his story finally over.

“You’re not the only one protecting Jack’s Ianto because of another,” the Time Lord said looking at Mickey in apology.

“Then let’s do what we can to keep him safe,” the other man replied with a nod, accepting the apology.

Martha nodded as well and the three of them began gather the data they needed on the Sorlshar.


	44. Chapter Forty-four

With Rhys organising soldiers to check out the food stocks and rustle up some food for Jack and Ianto, Gwen was at a bit of a loose end.

Major Brandan was with her troops checking the stations, getting readings for the Doctor, getting medical attention for those possessed and assessing the threat posed by those still in Canary Wharf.

Doctor Jane Lomax was with the medical teams examining the survivors.  So far they had only reported seven fatalities, which considering the numbers involved was a miracle.

There was no sign of Sam so Gwen went through what CCTV she could with Chris trying to identify all of the possessed people who then left both the ExCel Centre and the stations.

Those who had been in Mile End Stadium had, as she speculated, had mostly gone to the stations and the Excel Centre to increase the numbers of guards holding the prisoners.

The Sorlshar didn't seem to care about the CCTV in the area around Canary Wharf.  They saw the rest of the possessed, including Sam, heading for 1 Canada Square.

Identifying them confirmed Ianto’s theory as all of them had technical expertise that the Sorlshar could use to build something to hold them to ransom, a planet killer?

The thought made her cold and frustrated and she couldn’t get any answers from Ianto.

Apart from being uncertain of how much of the situation he was consciously aware; Gwen suspected that he and Jack were probably shagging and the Immortal was likely to shoot her if she dared interrupt.

The Doctor was just as inapproachable, buzzing from room to room gathering data on what Ianto did to free the possessed.  She saw Mickey and Martha head for the control centre where the Time Lord was analysing his data and guessed she had to rely on them to get answers out of the alien.

That meant there was only one source on information left for her to investigate.  Which was why she found herself outside Captain Turner’s room tentatively knocking.

“Come in,” the resigned voice called from within.

When Gwen entered she caught Turner by surprise.  He was obviously expecting Major Brandan and looked a little disappointed that the head of Torchwood weren’t her.

“She’s busy getting medical attention to those in the stations and checking out what’s happening around Canary Wharf,” Gwen told Turner gently and the Captain nodded.

“You want to know what happened, how I was taken over, if I know any of their plans,” Turner said bitterly.

“Well you did help us before,” Gwen reminded him gently.

She didn’t want to push him so she just sat down beside him as though she were only there to keep him company.

Gwen had no idea how traumatic this experience was or how much the Captain would remember.  This wasn’t going to be easy as some of those memories involved turning on his comrades in arms.

“It sounds like I’m describing a nightmare, a black cloud came towards me and I couldn’t escape it,” the Captain shuddered with fear.

“I’ve seen it, I know how real and frightening it is,” she reassured him.

“He helped you escape, Mr. Harkness-Jones, he kept you safe.”

“Yes,” she answered unwilling to lie to him about this.

“I didn’t feel different at first.  In fact I felt relieved that it had passed over me and that nothing happened.

“I didn’t notice when I left my post and it wasn’t until I pointed my gun at the Major that I realised I wasn’t in charge of myself anymore,” Turner suddenly began to cough.

Gwen instantly dived for the pitcher of water by his bedside, poured him a glass and helped him to drink.  She smoothed circles over his back and after a while realised that he was no longer sipping but sobbing.

The Ex-PC put the glass down and held the Captain.  She couldn’t think of anything more terrible than finding your body was no longer yours to control, hell she knew, she’d experienced it herself.

“I’m sorry,” he apologised like a boy caught being unmanly.

“It’s alright love, I’ve experienced having something else in control, I know how helpless it makes you, how frightened you become of it happening again,” Gwen said softly without withdrawing.

He clung to her trembling for a moment before regaining his composure and sitting back up, away from her.  He managed an embarrassed smile and she returned to her seat, waiting for him to be ready.

“They’re a hive mind Ms. Cooper.  That’s why they fear the Light Bringer, the loss of one makes them less, though they enjoy the feel of those losses and they remember every experience, all their experiences.

“When they were trapped they were isolated from the rest of themselves and now they are the last.  They have a trap prepared for the Light Bringer, they want him to suffer and die then they will be free to rule.

“I could see some of its thoughts but there were some things it didn’t think.  They are preparing a way to bring the Light Bringer to them, they wanted to prepare the destruction matrix before he comes but he has proven too powerful and it would have taken them days to be ready,” Turner looked at Gwen.

“The disadvantage of a hive mind against someone with Mr. Harkness-Jones’ power, and the Light’s resources, is that I don’t think we need fear the planet blowing up, I gave him the knowledge, I think he has disabled the devices,” the Captain smiled but it was too brief.

“They have to eliminate Ianto before they try that again.  That’s why they are preparing a trap, something he won’t be able to resist walking into.”

Gwen did not like the sound of that at all.  She knew if anyone was going to be used as bait it would be Jack but he was with Ianto and he couldn’t be killed. 

Of course...

“There’s worse,” Turner said breaking the line of her thoughts.

“Worse?” Gwen asked.

“As the Sorlshar within me was dying it felt very smug.  I get the feeling that there is something else.  A contingency plan that Ianto isn’t going to see,” Turner began to cough again and Gwen reached back for the water.

“Before you ask I have no idea what it could be.  The different parts of the hive mind can isolate themselves from the others, enough leaked through for me to know about the traps but no details,” Turner said sadly when the coughing subsided.

She nodded and they lapsed into silence.  Gwen knew she really should go but the look on Turner’s face said that he wasn’t ready to be alone again, not just yet.

“Who is Felicity?” Gwen asked unable to think of anything else to say.

“My reason to fight them, to throw the Sorlshar out of my mind.  She’s my daughter, I’m estranged from her mother, only get to see her a few times a month but she’s my life.

“I had been trying not to think about her, didn’t want the Sorlshar to know my weakness but as soon as Mr. Harkness-Jones said her name I couldn’t help it.

“I was wrong, she wasn’t my weakness, she was my strength, my weapon against them.  As soon as I felt love for her they were repelled, they couldn’t stand to be in me, they tried to kill me but the light that entered me destroyed them, made me feel better,” Captain Turner said with a smile and Gwen smiled with him, knowing that was how things were between her and Rhys.

Gwen’s phone interrupted anymore questions and made them both jump.  Seeing the caller she was half tempted to send it straight to answer phone but resisted.

“Hello Andy how’s things in Cardiff?” she asked moving away from Turner with a loom of apology.

Andy’s answer made her blood turn cold.


	45. Chapter Forty-five

“So what’s up?” Jack asked as he walked into the Command Centre hand in hand with Ianto; the Doctor, Martha and Mickey turned to look at them curious.

 _They’re probably expecting to see evidence of our lovemaking_ , Jack thought not caring if he was disappointing them.

They had needed to talk and Ianto’s explanations relieved and worried Jack’s mind greatly.  He could accept being used by the Concept but he didn’t like the idea of Ianto being used.

His husband was so defensive of her, he supposed that having lived with her in his head for most of his life was bound to make him a little protective.

It was good though just to hold Ianto and pretend they had no other cares for a while.

 “We’ve got the reports from all of Major Brandan’s teams.  All those who were in the stations when you liberated them are being evacuated and given medical attention.  The latest word, only ten fatalities,” the Doctor sadly said; interrupting the Immortal’s thoughts.

Beside him Ianto tensed.  Jack let go of his hand to put his arm around his husband.

“For a Sorlshar invasion anything under a hundred thousand fatalities is good, just ten is practically a miracle,” the Doctor said quietly making the Welshman look up.

Jack was glad of the Doctor’s reassurance.  He knew Ianto would focus on the failure each fatality meant not the success of thousands of freed people.

“Any way all the survivors have traces of Concept energy and no Solrshar energy so they’re safe.  Brandan has sent sensor probes into the Underground.  There are traces of Sorlshar energy but only enough to indicate passing not actual Sorlshar.

“Based on the readings all of the Sorlshar have gone to Canary Wharf which you have isolated.  There’s a dome of Concept light around the building.  I’m assuming that there’s shielding around it which is why it stopped there,” the Doctor said and the Welshman nodded.

“What about those inside?” Jack asked.

“Here’s just the man to answer your question,” the Doctor said indicating the entrance to the hall.

They all turned to see Chris Sanders walk in.  He saw them looking gave an awkward smile, looked around for Gwen before walking towards Jack.

“I tracked everyone from Mile End Stadium and those missing from here and the Stations.  I used facial recognition to identify almost everyone seen going into Canary Wharf.

“Major Brandan was right the majority of the possessed guarding the ExCel centre are actually civilians who had been kept at Mile End.

“Before last night’s takeover here was complete, Sam and nine other UNIT soldiers and technicians took a truck and west.  Like Turner they must have been lucid enough to pass the quarantine boundary guard supposedly to collect more equipment,” Chris said apologetically.

“Oh please don’t tell me we have to hunt for hosted Sorlshar outside of London,” Jack said depressingly.

“The Concept energy readings suggest they covered the whole of Britain.  The only place we will find Hosted Sorlshar is in Canary Wharf,” the Doctor reassured.

“Besides they all came back after about eleven hours.  The guard who stopped them as they re-entered the city was fortunately quite officious, he insisted on identifying all of them before he let them pass,” Chris added.

“Eleven hours what were they up to?” Martha asked.

“Breaking into the Hub,” Chris replied and they stared at him in shock.

Jack checked his wrist strap and Ianto his PDA and then they both looked at Chris confused.

“Sam must have deactivated the alarms and alerts so that they could get in unnoticed.  I only know because I decided to upgrade UNIT’s facial recognition software with Torchwood’s. 

“I checked the security systems while I waited and discovered they had gone there and taken some things but the records were wipes, I only have a few vague images from external camera and speculation,” Chris replied apologising and Jack patted him on the shoulder.

“So they are creating a doomsday device,” the Doctor pronounced ominously as Gwen ran in.

“Oh you... don’t... have to... worry about... that,” she panted doubling over to get her breath back.

“What!”

“Spoke to Turner... figured out... if Ianto is telekinetic... then the Concept is too... only more so.  Doomsday devices... probably sorted... until Ianto dead,” she panted.

Then she straightened up and took a few deep breaths, calming herself before she turned to face Ianto.

“Andy called your sister and her husband are missing,” Gwen said solemnly.

Jack saw his husband sway and immediately put his arms around Ianto to support him.

He felt his gut’s twist.  Jack knew how it felt to have a sibling taken from him, but for Ianto it was worse because...

“Your niece and nephew are fine,” Gwen reassured and Jack felt Ianto’s tension ease a little.

“Apparently they wanted to do some decorating so they arranged for David and Mica to stay with friends.  David was going to spend the night but when Rhiannon didn’t collect Mica her friend’s mum went to investigate.

“As soon as she got there she saw the door had been broken off and there was no one inside, she called the police.  David and Mica are now in protective custody and they’ve been trying to call us for hours,” Gwen explained.

Jack and Ianto immediately both dug in their pockets for their phones.

“Police interviewed neighbours, no one saw any mysterious cars or heard any commotion but a lot of people reported seeing or hearing a helicopter,” Gwen added as the Harkness-Jones’ stared at their phones.

“It’s in the CCTV footage.  About forty minutes before Canary Wharf was encased in light a helicopter landed on a neighbouring tower.  I couldn’t get a good enough image of the occupants to identify them, they went inside but didn’t come out,” Chris said apologising for not remembering.

“Probably using the tunnels that link all the towers in that area to the Torchwood Tower,” Ianto said absently, he hadn’t looked up from his switched off phone.

“Mine was like that too.  Just before I went to interview Turner I checked my messages.  I just thought it had lost its charge and I hadn’t noticed in the excitement but I tried turning it on anyway and I was surprised it worked.

“After I spoke to Andy I realised that I still had over half a bar worth of battery.  They turned our phones off deliberately,” Gwen stated putting a hand on Ianto’s shoulder.

“I can’t leave them in there.  I have to get them out, I have to stop this,” Ianto said quietly his voice dark and dangerous.

“Hah, I’m about to commit genocide,” he added the barking laugh held no amusement.

“I know what a heavy burden that is but the Sorlshar have wiped out millions of species and will continue to do so if not stopped,” the Doctor stated.

“I’ll stop them,” Ianto said.

“If even one escapes they can repopulate and start again with a new world,” the Time Lord warned.

“I will get them all,” the Welshman replied staring deep into the Doctor’s eyes.

“It’s a trap,” Jack warned as though it was obvious.

“We all know that, there maybe even be another trap after that, but there is a chance that they don’t know yet that we know it’s a trap,” Gwen said optimistically.

As one they all turned to the command centre computers and began to make plans.

 

 

 

 

 


	46. Chapter Forty-six

Ianto raced the SUV carrying himself, Jack, the Doctor and Gwen through the streets of London.  He was glad that there was no traffic about because right then he would have stopped for no one.

It had taken all of Ianto’s self control, and Jack holding firmly onto him, to make the Welshman wait for the Sorlshar’s phone call. 

Ms. Simpkins, the head of Firebrand, was the Sorlshar’s spokeswoman.  She told them that they had Rhiannon and Johnny, told him that he had to surrender himself or they would die.

As soon as the phone call ended Ianto ran for the SUV, barely waiting for the others, before charging off to the Torchwood Tower.

Ianto only hoped that there had been enough time for the others to do their work.

Mickey, Martha, Chris, Marcus and Eversleigh left the ExCel centre nearly an hour before the phone call. 

Chris, Marcus and Eversleigh were pretending to set up another surveillance post.  This time though they were not looking for Sorlshar energy, they were looking for heat signatures.

The Doctor was concerned that the equipment wouldn’t work because of the Concept’s light barrier but Ianto recalibrated the instruments to overcome that problem. 

Meanwhile the Time Lord adjusted their comms to make them more secure as Sam could have given them access to Torchwood and UNIT’s channels.

While the surveillance data would be very useful, their positioning was really a cover.

Mickey and Martha were heading beneath the road into the drainage system.  From there they would be entering the tunnels that the Sorlshar used to escape the Concept’s light attack.

Before Mickey had gone undercover in Firebrand, Ianto had told him the locations and exits of several tunnels that led in and out of the Torchwood Tower, many of them weren’t on any plans as they were the Director’s personal escape routes.

That meant that Firebrand and the Sorlshar had no idea they were there.

Ianto only knew about them because he had come across them one day when he had let his mind wander outside of his body.  He had later used one to get Lisa out and then return for what he needed under UNIT and Jack’s noses. 

Ianto told Jack about them later of course, but the Immortal brushed it off as unimportant.  The Torchwood Tower was going to become just another corporate office block, the Canary Wharf the public saw, who cared about secret tunnels.

Despite knowing his husband better now, Ianto couldn’t help wondering if he’d been given the brush off because Jack didn’t want to file the paperwork or because he liked the idea of having a secret way into Torchwood One, even if Torchwood One wasn’t there anymore.

Whatever the reason, Martha and Mickey had a way to sneak in undetected while he went to the front door like a sacrificial lamb.

Ianto knew they weren’t going to kill him straight away; they wanted to tease out the Concept and interrogate her, find out how she had destroyed the other Sorlshar but kept the human hosts alive.

That was one of their twisted pleasures, knowing their hosts would die when they died, and now the Concept had thwarted them.

No one was going to ask him how the Concept had managed to save so many people when all her predecessors had failed because all the legends said that the host’s mind was blank except for the thought of the Concept.

For the first two times, on the plane and outside St. Pauls Cathedral that had been true but not the last time.

The Concept hadn’t just needed Ianto to show her telekinesis and levitation.  She had needed to know how to look into another’s mind, to see what they would fight for.  When he had lifted Captain Turner up, Ianto had looked into the man, shown the Concept what was needed to make him want to resist, make him want to live.

However instinct made him look further.

Ianto hadn’t just seen the damage done to Turner’s mind, he had felt the damage done to his body.  The cells being drained of energy, the failure of his immune system, the way his body was attacking himself, all caused by the Sorlshar.

He could save their minds, free them from the Sorlshar but they would not survive for long.  Their bodies would soon break down and fail and Ianto wouldn’t let that happen if he could prevent it.

And he could.

Not with any knowledge of his, nor with any knowledge of the Concept or Torchwood.  The ability to save these people was a gift from another.

Pharen, the Rucathic geneticist whose consciousness had once shared his head with the Concept, had left him a few gifts.  One was a Rucathic immune system tailored to be compatible with his human one; another was her vast knowledge of genetics and physiology.

Most of the time that knowledge lay dormant in his mind, it was of no use to him and it wasn’t a gift he felt comfortable using.

In that moment, as he looked into Turner to see what ailed him, that knowledge awakened in him and Ianto knew what was needed to save the Captain’s body as well as his mind.

He nudged Turner’s body into creating the right repair cells, stopped his cells turning against each other and strengthened his immune system to aid the fight against the Sorlshar.

The light of the Concept destroyed the Sorlshar within Turner and at the same time gave him the extra energy he needed so that the re-awaking of his mind and will could do the rest.

When the Concept spread her light and essence over Britain, Ianto’s mind had been with her.  She really didn’t need him once he had shown her the way, but she was cautious, she wanted to make sure she was doing it right and not harming those she was trying to save.

The Concept did not like the fact that they were now going to just walk into the Torchwood Tower, but she knew that they had no choice. 

He could feel that she cared for Rhiannon as much as he did and was glad that she was going to keep herself in check until it was time.

Ianto could see the Torchwood Tower looming in front of him; the Sorlshar’s last stronghold.

The shielding around the Torchwood Tower probably wasn’t the kind the Doctor and the others were thinking of.

With so many of its employees having psychic training, the Torchwood Director who commissioned the building of the Tower had psychic shielding added to prevent aliens minds influencing them.

That meant that while the Concept’s light could penetrate the glass and steel, her consciousness, her ability to speak to the host minds, could not.

Once inside that wasn’t so much of a problem, except that on the list of items to go missing from UNIT’s Black Archives was a box of damaged Aridalan Amulets.

The Aridalians were incredibly paranoid about the possibility of their minds being taken over by telepaths.  That meant their amulets contained personal psychic shields and some of the Sorlshar hosts could use them to keep Ianto and the Concept out.

The Welshman smoothly stopped the SUV and got out before anyone could say anything.  He could feel Jack’s worry, his love and his fear of losing Ianto and gave him a reassuring smile before heading for the front door.

Behind the light barrier, just inside the glass doors, five Hosted Sorlshar lay in wait.  They were all armed and their weapons were brought to bear.

Ianto felt his consciousness slip slightly as the Concept rose within him. 

They created a bubble around Jack, Gwen, the Doctor and him, one which then merged with the dome of light to create opening and letting them enter the tower without breaking the barrier.

“You were meant to come here alone,” one of the Sorlshar complained.

Ianto looked at them as saw that none of them were wearing Aridalan Amulets. 

The Concept moved lightening fast and every one of them dropped screaming until the Welshman told them to sleep.

He reached out with his mind and located his sister and Johnny.  He could feel the Sorlshar’s fear and a couple of voids that indicated the presence of shielded minds.

“What are you doing?” the Doctor demanded.

The Concept chose that moment for her light to fade from him.  While to Ianto there was no difference, the Doctor sighed as though the answer was lost forever.

Ianto headed straight for the lift suppressing a grim smile.  Now the incident was going to be put down to the Concept being unable to control her nature.

He wasn’t here to negotiate; he was here to destroy the Sorlshar.  Taking Rhiannon was only delaying the inevitable and making him angry.

Tonight it was going to end.


	47. Chapter Forty-seven

If there was one thing that Jack knew that everyone else seemed to forget, it was that you never threaten someone that Ianto cares about.

Jack knew that he, and his Torchwood team, had only gotten away with destroying the Cyberman because there was part of Ianto that had known that Lisa was already gone.

Whenever people met Ianto they saw a polite, passive, calm man with wonderful manners and a dry sense of humour.  People rarely saw his passionate side and none as intimately as Jack had.

The Immortal wasn’t sure that even Gwen quite understood how protective Ianto was, what lengths his husband was capable of going to, to look after those he cared about.

Ianto wasn’t a natural killer, he abhorred violence and hated death, but for someone he loved he could do it, he could be violent, he could kill.

Unlike the Doctor, Jack was not surprised that the Concept took out their escort. 

There was going to be no negotiation and if Rhiannon or Johnny were harmed, the Sorlshar would be facing a drawn out and painful end.

Ianto looked so calm and in control as he entered the lift.  Probably only Jack was aware of how much his husband was seething.

No, not just his husband. 

Now that he stood beside Ianto, Jack could feel the Concept seething within him, both of them keeping the other in check because they had a plan.

For the first time Jack began to understand how his husband could see the Concept as an independent person trapped within his mind. 

She had lived Ianto’s life with him, and perhaps to her Rhiannon was also her sister.

Jack felt a cold knot tighten in his stomach.  The end was coming and he was afraid for both Ianto and the Concept.

There was also this mysterious promise of the TARDIS but Jack couldn’t see what that was about.

Ianto looked at him and gave a brief smile.  He was trying to reassure, but Jack knew his mind was sick with worry for Rhiannon.

Jack cleared his mind of thoughts for the future.  He had to concentrate of keeping Ianto safe while they got Rhiannon and Johnny out.

That meant that he didn’t care about the fate of any of the hosts.  It didn’t matter how innocent they were, he could kill them to protect his husband.

That was also why Gwen was here.  They had both discussed it while Ianto and the Doctor had argued about the Time Lord going.

She accepted that they might be killing innocent lives, but preventing Ianto from surrendering himself and the Concept was more important.

By the time the Doctor managed to persuade Ianto to let him accompany them, the Welshman had no energy left to argue about Gwen.

Jack felt the knot in his stomach tighten as the doors opened and he recognised the level they exited on.  This was the floor Ianto had rescued them from when he was pretending to be Timmons the torturer.

“No, no, no,” the Doctor suddenly said and raced off towards the room when they had been taken to await torture.

Jack and Gwen both looked at Ianto who smiled mysteriously before running after the Time Lord.

As the Immortal followed he suddenly knew that his husband had wanted Gwen and the Doctor there too, the arguments had been to provoke them into coming, but not him.

Jack knew Ianto had wanted him to stay behind, safe, which didn’t make much sense given his Immortality.  Yet his husband’s irrational protectiveness towards him was something the Immortal adored.

The Doctor entered the room where they had been held and the others followed behind.  Immediately Jack saw what had drawn the Time Lord here.

“That’s why they broke into the Hub.  They wanted to steal the TARDIS from the Archives,” Gwen said her mouth open in shock.

 “They want to rule the universe what better way to get there,” Ianto said quietly and the Time Lord turned to look at him.

“What better way indeed,” the voice of Ms. Simpkins startled them all.

Jack looked with the others towards where she spoke at the opposite side of the large room.

She looked more wan than when he last saw her and far more ruthless.  It seems the Sorlshar had helped her get over her squeamishness.

Behind her were Rhiannon and Johnny.  There was a man behind each of them and they both held a knife to their captive’s throat.

 “No doubt you have noticed the presence of the Aridalan Amulets,” Ms. Simpkins said swaying an ugly pewter coloured pendant holding a dull black stone like a hypnotist’s watch.

Jack could feel a void around her.  It was as though his awareness stopped just before it touched her.

The Immortal shuddered; her presence reminded him of the blackness of his deaths before Ianto brought warmth into that void.

“Only two though,” Ianto said quietly.

He was right, Ms. Simpkins wasn’t the only one with a void around her. 

The other came from the man who stood behind Rhiannon.  Ianto’s sister vibrated with so much life that she masked it at first.

“Two is enough I think.  You looked into the thoughts of our hosts, that’s how you got them to free themselves, though how you managed to save them from delicious death we don’t know; yet.

“You believe you have the power to destroy us, that all you needed to do is to get past the doors but you can’t touch the two of us.

“You will surrender to us or your sister dies,” Ms. Simpkins said smugly.

Ianto looked at his terrified sister, tried to convey some reassurance with his eyes but the man holding her just yanked her back, making her gasp.

The Welshman bowed his head, his shoulders sagging in defeat.

Yet Jack could feel Ianto’s mind reaching out, reaching towards the man that held Johnny.

“Don’t try anything, you cannot enter our minds and as soon as you do anything we will strike.  Surrender,” Ms. Simpkins said and Ianto looked up sharply.

Ianto’s mind retreated a little and the head of Firebrand’s smile widened.

“You can’t do this Ianto, you can’t just give up,” Gwen said quietly.

“That’s my sister.  What would you do if you were in my position and that was Rhys,” Ianto hissed.

Jack couldn’t stop himself from frowning so he quickly changed it into a scowl directed at the head of Firebrand.

Despite the way his shoulders were slumped, the way he stared at the ground, Ianto didn’t feel defeated.

Jack suppressed a smile as he remembered the second golden rule about Ianto after never threaten someone he cares for.

Never underestimate him under any circumstances.

“Very well I’ll surrender,” Ianto said quietly.

Jack could see all of them visibly relax, they scented victory, they dropped their guard.

A moment later all hell broke loose.


	48. Chapter Forty-eight

 

To Jack’s eyes Mickey and Martha Smith appeared from nowhere. 

Later he would learn that one of the Torchwood Director’s escape routes, which had been carefully reconstructed by Firebrand without realising it, came out right behind the men holding Rhiannon and Johnny.

They were all so focused on Ianto and his decision that the other two had been able to sneak up unnoticed.  Jack suspected his husband had also given them a little help to make them extra stealthy.

The first Jack saw of them was when Mickey grabbed the man holding Rhiannon.  The Sorlshar host dropped the knife and began screaming as soon as he was touched.

Immortal was sure that he saw a flash of light as Mickey made contact with the host.

A cry drew Jack’s attention to Ms. Simpkins.

The knife Johnny’s captor had been holding was now sticking out of the head of Firebrand’s chest.  Jack could see that the blow had severed one side of the chain holding the amulet, which slipped to the floor.

Martha tackled the man holding Johnny.   Without the knife to his throat the Welshman was able to help by struggling to free himself.

Rhiannon moved swiftly away from both her captor and Mickey.

Ianto glowed with the light of the Concept for a few seconds then Johnny’s Captor and Ms. Simpkins began to scream.

“Sleep,” the Concept commanded and they slumped into unconsciousness.

Martha checked first Johnny then Rhiannon before attending to Ms. Simpkins.  She stabilised the head of Firebrand before sighing with relief and turning to the others.

Mickey stood staring at his hands, the man he had touched was clearly dead.

“I just touched him,” Mickey said to himself as the Doctor approached and scanned him with the Sonic Screwdriver.

“I’m getting traces of Concept energy,” the Doctor said in surprise.

“It wasn’t me,” Ianto said when they all turned to him.

“Though for a moment I felt a kind of kinship,” he added.

“Of course I did wonder,” the Doctor said slapping his forehead.

“Wonder what?” Jack asked when no more seemed to be forthcoming.

“I wondered how Mickey wasn’t infected by the Sorlshar when he was alone at Firebrand, Ianto obviously must have protected Eversleigh.

“You told me you knew another Ianto in Pete’s Universe; that you were with him when he died.  That Ianto must also have had a Concept, though why that wasn’t passed on to you I don’t know, but he must have left you some form of protection,” the Doctor said.

Jack saw Ianto stiffen as the Time Lord contemplated why the Concept hadn’t continued to exist in Mickey.  He imagined that, as the Concept had achieved sentience, she could not go on to live within another.

Ianto crossed the room and took Mickey’s hands in his.

“Your relationship, your being there at the end, it must have meant a great deal to him.  He wanted you to be safe, protected and loved,” as Ianto said loved he passed Mickey’s hands, turning him, to Martha.

She took her husband’s hands and Ianto let them go.  Mickey looked up into Marth’s face and smiled at her as though a great burden had been lifted.

Jack watched Ianto go over to where Rhiannon and Johnny were stood, holding each other.

“David and Mica are safe; the police are looking after them.  Are the two of you alright?” Ianto asked.

Rhiannon collapsed with relief into Johnny’s arms at the news that her children were safe.  They nodded wordlessly as Ianto’s question, to stunned to really be taking it all in.

“I’m going to end this now,” Ianto promised his sister.

The Welshman walked across the room, ignoring the concern on his sister’s face, until he faced the TARDIS.  He gave Jack a last glance and then shut his eyes and let the light of the Concept flow within him.

Jack gasped as he saw the door to the TARDIS open.  He looked across to the Doctor who seemed just as stunned.

A yellow light spilled from the TARDIS while the Concept’s blue lights flowed out of Ianto heading towards the Sorlshar within the tower.

In the golden glow Jack could see a shape forming.  Even before it was complete, the Immortal recognised the naked form of his husband.

A brilliant light leapt from the first Ianto to the second and Jack realised that the other Ianto was also glowing with Concept light.

The second Ianto opened his eyes and looked at the first.  A mischievous smile spread across his lips before he closed his eyes again.

Jack stared from one Ianto to the other before he realised that the second one was looking slightly less like his husband.

His cock was shrinking for a start.   His hips and thighs were changing shape, the dark hairs becoming finer.  Ianto’s chest was swelling and his shoulders were not as board.

The naked Ianto’s facial features were softening, his hair growing, or should that be her hair.

Once in a fit of irrational jealousy, Jack had painted a female nude version of Ianto.  It had almost cost him his relationship, and now he was looking at her.

His eyes instantly shifted to his husband as he saw the light of the Concept fade.  Both male and female versions of Ianto opened their eyes.

Jack’s husband immediately removed his jacket, tie and shirt and handed the latter to his female counterpart before putting his jacket back on.

Once the female Ianto was buttoned up they both smiled at each other then laughed then hugged and danced for joy.

Jack knew then that he was looking at Ianto and the Concept, both in the flesh.  He understood now why his husband had said that, if he kept his promise to the TARDIS, everything would be alright.

 _But what was his promise to the TARDIS?_   Somehow Jack didn’t think that freeing Earth from the Sorlshar was quite it, despite the number of lives they managed to save.

The two of them stopped moving as the Doctor approached.  Ianto stepped protectively in front of the Concept.

“You’re the Concept made flesh?  You’re no longer in his head you have your own body?” the Time Lord asked and the female Ianto nodded meekly.

“Then you have left him vulnerable,” the voice coming out of the Doctor’s mouth wasn’t quiet his own.

Jack realised the Sorlshar was within the Time Lord as he pounced on Ianto and dark smoke flowed into the Welshman’s mouth before their lips met.


	49. Chapter Fifty

“Do you think I would leave my beloved guardian undefended?” the Concept asked in the same tone Ianto used when he was outwitting someone.

The Welshman’s arms gripped the Time Lord to him and Jack felt a surge of jealousy and fear before he realised Ianto was glowing again.

“My creator’s people had little interest in the workings of the body, in the blueprints of life.  If he had, he might not have trusted to a man’s virtue put placed the protection from the Sorlshar within.

“When Pharen returned Ianto to his human form, I asked her if she would make a little change in addition to her gift.  She let me put my Concept into Ianto’s DNA so that it could generate itself in every nucleus; needing his thoughts only to be directed like any other bodily function.

“It is her knowledge that let us save humanity, change my gender and fulfil our promise,” the Concept said as Ianto pulled back from what had definitely become a kiss.

Jack had moved as the Concept spoke until she raised a hand to stop him.  From his new position he could see Ianto’s face as he and the Doctor opened their eyes.

For a few seconds Ianto’s eyes weren’t blue.  They were filled with the golden light from the heart of the TARDIS.

The Immortal felt relieved because the kiss was between Time Lord and TARDIS, and worried because that was his husband who was being possessed, again.

The golden light however only stayed long enough for the Time Lord to register surprise before becoming Ianto’s normal blue.

The Welshman’s eyes darted to look at his husband, check that he was alive and whole before returning his attention back to the Time Lord.

“I didn’t realise, I’m sorry,” the Doctor said quietly.

“The TARDIS knew there was one Sorlshar left in the Box of Oncreath, she must have known my other self had protected Mickey; that you would investigate and become infected.

“That’s why she asked me to save you.  Pharen’s gift gave me the ability to save humanity but I needed a DNA sample and a little something of the TARDIS to save you,” Ianto explained, looking apologetically across at Jack.

The Immortal has witnessed Ianto using this DNA sampling technique before, but that wasn’t what made him unhappy.

He was not happy about the fact that Ianto, the Concept and the TARDIS had all deliberately endangered his husband’s life in order to goad the last of the Sorlshar into a trap.

The apology and shyness in Ianto’s eyes, the way the Concept’s head was downcast made Jack forgive them. 

Besides a universe where the Doctor could spread one of the horrors he fought so hard against was too terrible to contemplate.

The Time Lord must have had the same thought because he shuddered and wouldn’t properly look at any of them.

Which was why his eyes turned to the Concept who wouldn’t meet his gaze.  She looked as though she was waiting for him to judge her existence worthy.

The Doctor opened his mouth to speak.

“You’re Enid aren’t you?” Rhiannon’s voice made them all turn.

Jack had forgotten Ianto’s sister was there and it took a moment for what she’d said to register.

The Immortal wondered how she could possibly know about her brother’s imaginary friend.  Of course, being Ianto’s sister meant that she knew him as a child and therefore knew him when he first got the Concept.

 “Yes I’m Enid,” the Concept said shyly as she approached.

“Well it’s good to finally meet you in the flesh,” Rhiannon said smiling and giving the Concept a hug.

Jack wondered if Rhiannon had the same sense of awareness as Ianto; had she been able to sense the presence of another being within her brother.

“It’s good to be able to speak to you,” Enid said embracing Ianto’s sister.

“Well we can catch up while we get you something decent to wear,” Rhiannon said looking down at Ianto’s shirt.

“The Doctor’s got a wardrobe full of clothes,” Martha volunteered and, with a kiss to her husband’s cheek, she and Gwen bundled Rhiannon and Enid into the TARDIS.

The four men all turned to Ianto who shrugged.

“When we were little my sister used to get on a lot better with my imaginary friend than she did with me,” Ianto explained.

“Shouldn’t that be ‘other sister’ and not so imaginary?” Johnny asked.

“I guess,” Ianto said.

“Well I may not have understood most of what happened but I’m fairly sure I just gained a sister-in-law, and woe betide you if you tell Rhiannon differently,” Johnny said wagging a finger in friendly warning at the Doctor.

Jack smiled at his brother-in-law.  Johnny probably couldn’t understand the light, the appearance and sex change of another Ianto, but he understood his wife’s reaction and recognised who was deciding Enid’s fate.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” the Time Lord said.

“Did the ladies really fit inside that police box?” Johnny asked.

“Come on I’ll give you the guided tour and you can see for yourself one of the secrets Ianto’s been keeping to protect you.  After all you have to explain to your kids that they have a new aunt,” Mickey said leading the Welshman into the TARDIS.

“I’ll give Major Brandan a call and tell her she can start seeing to the hosts and Firebrand.  I think we should get down to the archives and make sure that the most dangerous technology ends up either with Torchwood or properly disposed of,” Ianto said heading out the door.

Jack followed his husband and waited for him to finish his phone call.  The lift arrived at the same time and he pushed Ianto into the lift’s back wall and began to kiss him.

The Immortal’s hands roamed the Welshman’s body and his mind sought out that of the man he loved.

Ianto’s mind was still racing a little, but the passion and love he felt for Jack was there in every thought, every swipe of his tongue, every touch.

“We’re here,” the Doctor announced and the Immortal felt his husband tense beneath him.

Ianto pulled away from Jack.  As he turned and walked out the lift his face became his all business mask.

By the buttons the Time Lord sagged slightly with disappointment. 

“Are you alright?” Jack asked when he realised that Ianto had purposely disappeared into Firebrand’s Archives so that they could talk.

“I’m feeling old and foolish,” the Doctor confessed.

“Ianto makes me feel like sometimes,” Jack said trying to reassure.

“I saw Mickey handle the box of Oncreath and I assumed it was safe.  I scanned the three of them but I never bothered to check myself,” the Time Lord said shaking his head.

“And the Concept being sentient,” he added loudly waving his hands in the air.

“I should have thought of that.  Ianto’s teacher would have emphasised how dangerous it was to use the Concept, but with his awareness he wouldn’t have been able to help reaching out to the growing presence.

“You knew,” the Doctor said quietly turning to Jack.

“Ianto told me part of it, the rest I worked out for myself.  The Con... Enid was the one responsible for how horny Ianto was, she was apparently using his openness to send out her consciousness,” the Immortal replied feeling better able to accept what she had done now she was no longer living inside his husband.

“Oh it was more than that,” the Doctor said sadly making Jack look at him sharply.

“Ianto can touch my mind much easier than most humans can, but to find what I live for is a dark journey for anyone to undertake and it seems an unnecessary one.

“Ianto’s been carrying a spark of my TARDIS within him since he made his promise, she hid it from me but that was what I needed to resist the Sorlshar. 

“I have an old and complex personality, or ten, making it harder for the Sorlshar to just take me over but; I think that when Enid wandered outside Ianto’s mind, she took that spark with her to encourage me to keep fighting,” the Doctor said with a touch of pride.

“It won’t have hurt him?” Jack asked worried and regretted it when he saw the look of hurt of his friend’s face.

But at that moment Jack had been thinking of Rose and the vortex she had taken into herself, and used to defeat the Daleks, used to make him Immortal.  He remembered the Doctor saying he had to remove it to save her life and in doing so changed into his current form.

“We would never have done anything to hurt Ianto.  It was just a spark with a specific purpose.  Between Enid and Ianto’s own defences he was perfectly safe,” the Time Lord reassured.

“Of course giving him a quick scan with the Sonic won’t hurt,” he then added.

Both men set off to find Ianto who was busy gathering artefacts.  The Doctor gave him a surreptitious scan while pretending to be using the sonic on the objects around them.

“I am alright,” Ianto said without turning, and Jack and the Doctor looked at each other guiltily.

The Welshman turned in time to see the guilty look and smiled at Jack.  His face became solemn again as he looked at the Doctor.

“Are you alright with Enid?” he asked.

The Doctor looked at him seriously for a few moments thinking it over before he replied.

“I don’t want to add being slapped by sisters to my habit of being slapped by mothers,” the Doctor said with a shy smile.

Ianto beamed at him and Jack felt the tension within his husband release.  He had been worried on Enid’s behalf; he had wanted the Time Lord’s approval.

As his husband turned back to his work Jack, noticed the Doctor sagging a little in relief.  It was strange to the Immortal that this wonderful lord of time sort Ianto’s approval too.

Before jealousy could worm its way into Jack’s feelings, the Doctor turned to him and smiled sheepishly; like a naughty schoolboy who had just been caught enjoying a teacher’s rare moment of praise.

“Punch,” Jack said quietly as they followed Ianto.

“What?” the Time Lord asked.

“If Gwen’s anything to go by, angry Welshwoman don’t slap they uppercut.  Why do you think I do everything possible to make sure Ianto is blissfully happy,” Jack replied, cheekily continuing after the Doctor stopped.

 _Of course it does help that I am totally and utterly in love with you_ , Jack thought, knowing that Ianto would pick the thought up.

He was right.

As soon and he was level with his husband, Ianto grabbed him, pushed him into a shelf and gave him a passionate kiss; much to the bemusement of the Doctor.

For the next hour Jack worked in a fuzzy haze.  He vaguely remembered sorting artefacts out but what he remembered most was touching Ianto.

He couldn’t stop it and his husband encouraged it.  Brief touches, lingering ones, whispering in his ear and accidently brushing it with his lips.

Jack never noticed the Doctor leave and return with the TARDIS to transport everything.  He vaguely remembered Gwen leaving so that she could liaise with Brandan, look after Sam, collect Rhys and arrange for transport for the Torchwood vehicles.

He stopped only when Rhiannon and Johnny were reunited with David and Mica.  It was such a wonderful moment; though it reminded Jack of his longing for a child.

Explaining Enid to Ianto’s niece and nephew was a bit more tricky, but they seemed to take it in their stride.  The former Concept of Neminar was overjoyed with their welcome.

An hour into the reunion, the Doctor took Mickey and Martha via home to Jack and Ianto’s private island.

They rest of them stayed late until Jack and Ianto took Enid back to their home. 

The Welshman decided that that night was no time to make decisions; that some things were best left until morning.

Jack agreed because he wanted to continue touching his husband in private.

 

 

 


	50. Chapter Fifty-one

The Doctor left Martha and Mickey to enjoy Jack and Ianto’s tropical island and set the coordinates for the Harknes-Jones’ Cardiff home.

There were a number of questions he still had about the Sorlshar business and Ianto was the only one who could answer them.

The Time Lord stepped out of the TARDIS into Jack and Ianto’s living room and almost knocked over an open suitcase full of male clothes.

Steadying the suitcase he looked and found a number of others.

For a few minutes the Doctor was concerned about his friend’s relationship.  Would saving his life, would that kiss have caused a rift between the two of them?

The sound of happy laughter squashed the Doctor’s fear instantly.  The way Ianto was half-heartedly protesting suggested that going upstairs would be a bad idea.

Movement in the corner of his eye drew the Time Lord’s attention to the back garden.  Enid was sitting on a bench waving at him, so he went out to join her.

“They have been at it all morning so I’m seeing refuge,” she said holding up a book as he sat down beside her.

“What’s with all the packing?” the Time Lord asked.

“They’re going to Europe for an extended holiday,” Enid replied with a smile.

“Isn’t that a bit sudden?” he asked meaning ‘ _How can they abandon you when you’ve barely been human a day_ ’.

“Well Ianto promised Jack that they would go as soon as this business with the Sorlshar was over but they put their plans on hold for me. 

“It’s been two months you know.  Ianto had to organise transport for Martha and Mickey to get home from the island,” Enid admonished gently and the Time Lord groaned quietly.

“So how have you been?  How are you finding your humanity?” the Doctor asked trying to deflect attention away from the TARDIS’ navigational failings.

“That isn’t the question you really want to ask,” Enid said sounding very much like Ianto.

“I’ve been good.  I don’t have to learn any social niceties or anything because I learnt them all while I was inside Ianto’s head.

“Jack says my personality is very much like Ianto’s and that I move like Ianto.  He’s been teaching me to act more like a woman which really amused Gwen and Rhiannon when they found out.

“Ianto asked why Jack hadn’t said anything when he was accidently turned into a woman, and Jack said that Ianto was finding it distressing enough without him pointing out the flaws.

“Besides which, if he had taught Ianto to act like a woman, then it wouldn’t just be his cock Jack would miss,” Enid said cheerfully as she answered his question anyway.

She turned to look at the Time Lord, saw the expression on his face and sighed.

“I shouldn’t have said that should I?  I go from being quiet to just blurting things out because I forget that I’m not just a voice in Ianto’s head anymore,” she said looking at him in apology and the Doctor smiled to let her know she was forgiven.

“You don’t have to worry about me waiting for Ianto to tell me what to do.  It seems that the personality trait that’s strongest in me is Ianto’s stubborn independence.

“On that first night, after we came back from Rhiannon’s, Jack was feeling amorous so Ianto showed me my room, told me to make myself at home and said that they would make any decisions about me in the morning.

“Well about ten seconds after they had gone I realised that I was hungry and had been since I became human.  I just stood there in my new room and wondered what I should do about it.

“It took me fifteen minutes to realise that what I should be doing about it was going down to the kitchen and getting myself something to eat.

“Well I couldn’t really decide what I wanted.  I ended up cooking everything they had in the fridge, everything tasted and smelt so wonderful.

“They joined me after an hour and began eating with me because I cooked far too much and Ianto beamed at me like a proud father.

“I realised then that I had to figure out my own life and I could,” Enid said smiling at the memory.

The Doctor mused that she may only have been a woman for a few months but she had certainly leant how to speak like one.

“I take it you’ve decided something,” the Doctor said nodding at the house.

“I’m going to university.  Ianto was worried that we had left applying too late for this year but it seems that no sooner had he figured out what was needed but he got a message saying that it had already been done, including organising exams for me to take so that I have my own qualifications,” Enid said and the Doctor laughed when he realised that he had to play fairy godmother to make her wish come true.

“Why did you decide to be a woman?  I mean I gather you’ve always been Enid but surely you are more familiar with being a man,” the Doctor said awkwardly after they were quiet for a while and she laughed in mild amusement.

“I’m not sure how I came to be Enid.  I think it was because I wasn’t what Ianto thought a male imaginary friend should be.

“You know I liked the way people looked at Ianto sometimes.  He wasn’t quite as shy and self deprecating as he became after the Battle of Canary Wharf, but he didn’t always see the admiration.

“I used to pretend that it was because it wasn’t for him it was for me.  That was one of the things I liked about Jack before he left.

“Ianto got more of those looks when he was turned into a woman and I like the way Jack felt inside us...”

“Okay too much information,” the Doctor said interrupting the former Concept.

“Sorry.  It’s one of the strange things about me, I know how to pleasure and be pleasured by both men and women but I’m still a virgin,” she replied and the Time Lord wondered if she had been hanging around with the Immortal for too long.

“I think it disconcerts Jack that we know each other so intimately but we don’t feel any attraction for each other.  I think by the time he comes back he will have figured it out,” Enid said and the Time Lord felt one of his worries ease.

The Doctor had been worried about how Jack would react to a female Ianto.  He didn’t want the Welshman to have to suffer anymore.

“You’re thinking about what the Master did to him,” Enid said quietly making the Time Lord look at her sharply.

She had the Welshman’s uncanny ability to read people and she had spoken what he feared the most.

“He doesn’t know and I won’t tell him.  Better he thinks the changes to his abilities were caused by an alien something rather than an alien someone.

“Now you are wondering why I didn’t stop the Master or if I deliberately let it happen,” Enid said gently.

All the Doctor could do was stare at her.  He understood fully why Jack would feel disconcerted, and he’d never slept with Ianto.

“I was just a voice in Ianto’s head.  I only have control over him when in the presence of the Sorlshar, I could not have prevented anything.

“I will say this though; there was no malice in his actions,” Enid said gently and waited a few moment for what she said to sink in before continuing.

“The Master felt desire, some twisted need for companionship that could in no way be called love, but he didn’t change Ianto to be malicious.

“And you know what, what he did saved your life, saved the lives of every human infected by the Sorlshar.  We needed me, Ianto and the changes the Master made and Pharen’s knowledge to save everyone,” Enid declared unashamed.

It took a few minutes for the former Concept’s words to sink in.

Like Mickey, the Doctor had felt burdened by the death of an alternative Ianto Jones.  What the Master had done had driven him to be protective, to make things up to Jack’s Ianto.

The Time Lord looked into Enid’s gentle blue eyes and saw the same forgiveness he had often seen in her new brother’s.

The Doctor had told Ianto many things after Donna, all the wonders and the horrors they had experienced together because he had needed someone to talk to, someone to understand and forgive.

The only thing he could not confess, could not be forgiven for, was what the Master had done to Ianto.

As he looked into Enid’s eyes he saw that she was forgiving him on her brother’s behalf.  A deep ache in his hearts released as he accepted.

“She cares for you greatly,” Enid said throwing the Time Lord off guard.

“What?”

“Your TARDIS, she cares for you greatly.  To accept a piece of herself, to save your life, she offered Ianto anything in the whole universe of space and time.

“He chose with his head.  He felt that, as I would be the one doing the essential saving, I deserved my freedom, my humanity, but she said I would have to have your approval,” she said quietly.

“Enid that wasn’t a condition that was a test; your life is in no danger from me, but if there had been any trace of the Sorlshar left...” the Time Lord left the answer hanging open, neither of them wanted to fill it.

“She gave him what his heart wanted to,” Enid said looking back at the house.

“Jack, you can’t just wish for true love,” the Doctor protested.

“Not Jack,” she admonished and the Time Lord heard a silent ‘idiot’, in Ianto’s Welsh tones.

“The life growing inside Jack,” she whispered.

“Jack’s pregnant,” the Doctor said stunned.

“Yes, he couldn’t conceive before,” Enid said.

In another lifetime, the Doctor would put his assumption that Jack’s Immortality had made him infertile down to how stunned with joy he had been at Enid’s words.

In another lifetime, he would watch a younger Ianto Jones bring vengeance and justice against the last of the Time Agency and realise his mistake, his assumption that a younger Jack would be safe because he knew the older Jack’s fate, and the lengths the TARDIS had gone to, to correct that mistake, to fulfil her promise.

Right now though ‘Jack’s pregnant’ was the only thing he thought of.

“Shhh, it’s a surprise,” Enid whispered gently.

The Doctor turned beaming at the former Concept of Nemin.  She was looking at him expectantly and he knew what had to be done.

“Come on let’s go to the past to ensure your future,” the Doctor said taking her hand.

They paused as they went back through the house to get the folder with Ianto’s instructions before going into the TARDIS.

Of course there were a few de-tours, the odd accidental landing somewhere else, but they got to all the times and places they needed to so that Enid Jones could go to University that September.

When everything was done the Doctor landed the TARDIS in the same place, minutes after they had left.  They paused outside the doors and listened to Jack and Ianto, but the husbands were quiet.

“I never asked you what it was you wanted to do?” the Doctor said curious.

The Time Lord felt his vow of no more companions was safe with Enid.  For her, he had learnt, independence wasn’t travelling the universe, it was becoming herself.

“I’m studying archaeology because I want to become a museum curator,” she said her smile widening at the stunned look on his face.

“When I was in Ianto’s mind, I used to love the quiet serenity of working alone in the archives, I liked meeting and helping the tourists and I used to love being with him when he counselled the kids at Powell House.

“I could never work for Torchwood, I’ve known too much death and destruction in my existence, I couldn’t work with tourist because some of them were weirder and more creepy than the aliens, and I can’t council because all my experiences aren’t really personal.

“I’ve existed for millennia but I never belonged until Ianto.  I want culture in my life.

“Being a museum curator will let me work alone with artefacts, meet people and teach them about culture.  Ianto and Jack are making sure I get an education so that I can do that,” she said smiling happily.

“Does it bother you?” the Time Lord asked finally able to voice what had been on his mind the whole time they had travelled together.

“Does what bother me?”

“What you are, your energies, your knowledge, it will let you live centuries perhaps millennia,” the Doctor said feeling bad for ruining her happy dream; yet her face didn’t fall.

“No, I won’t.  I will lead a normal human lifespan,” Enid said smiling and he knew that all the time he had known her, she had been waiting for him to ask.

“What?”

“Ianto’s head asked for me to have a body while his heart asked for a baby.  I asked your TARDIS to help me channel my energies and knowledge, and Pharen’s, especially her knowledge of fast healing, to give Ianto longer with Jack.

“Not forever but all the centuries perhaps millennia that should have come with me into this body, have remained behind in his.”

With a swift kiss to his cheek Enid turned away and headed back to the garden.

The Doctor heard Jack and Ianto stirring above him and ducked back into the TARDIS.

They didn’t need him right now, best for the three of them to get on with their lives for the next few months.

Besides he had a promise of his own to fulfil for Jack and he had a lot to organise before they called.

 

 


	51. Chapter Fifty-one

As soon as the door shut behind the bellboy, Jack turned to Ianto and pounced.

The Immortal had been waiting for months to get his husband alone in a 5 star hotel room in Rome.

Jack understood the delay; they had to make sure Enid would be alright alone, that she was coping with being human.  He understood but that didn’t stop him feeling frustrated.

All he wanted to do was be alone with his husband, to travel Europe like they had after they had gotten married.

While Jack had no doubts about Ianto’s fidelity, the incident with the Sorlshar, finding out about Enid, had made him feel like his husband hadn’t wholly been his.

Part of him knew that was silly.  Their lovemaking since they returned to Cardiff was as passionate as ever but...

Jack was aware of Enid being in the house.  It wasn’t the same as her being in Ianto’s head, but he still felt a little like he was sharing.

The Immortal couldn’t believe how jealously possessive he was being.  Yet he couldn’t help it, he had never been this in love before and the thought of losing that love was terrifying.

Jack had been overjoyed the morning he came down to the lounge and discovered Ianto had gotten the suitcases down.

Packing was slow because he couldn’t stop himself from dragging his husband up to their bedroom and letting him know how happy he was.

Enid had disappeared into the garden to keep out of their way and read.  Ianto had still been worried about her, but she had reassured him that she would be fine and was looking forward to University.

Sometime around mid-morning though, they both noticed something different about her. 

It was as though she was slightly older, like she had gown and become more of her own person while they had made love.

That puzzled Jack for a few hours until Ianto told him that his folder detailing what was needed to get Enid into University was missing.  They knew then that the former Concept had travelled with the Doctor to make her dreams a reality.

It allayed some of the Welshman’s fears for his new sister, and he relaxed into the idea of going away and leaving her to enjoy university life without him.

Ianto laughed as Jack’s lips enveloped his.  At last they were alone together in Rome and all the Immortal’s insecurities were fading away.

Carefully, Jack’s fingers worked the Welshman’s tie loose and threw it onto the bed.  He used kisses to distract Ianto before he fixed his lips upon his husband’s neck. 

The Welshman moaned softly as the Immortal sucked at his skin.

He was unhurried as he slipped free the buttons of Ianto’s shirt.  The Immortal was determined to take his time, despite the fact that he’d been feeling horny since Ianto emerged after breakfast in the suit.

Only his husband would put a suit on to travel because he knew full well that it would drive Jack crazy.

He moved slowly down his husband torso, moving aside the shirt and letting his lips claim Ianto’s body, each claim was verified and accepted with a soft moan.

He broke away as he began to slide the shirt from Ianto’s shoulders.  With swift movements he was standing behind his husband admiring his back.

Even after two months it still amazed Jack that he could see his true initials marked out in darkened skin on Ianto’s back, just as it amazed him that the panther was still on his inner thigh.

Jack stared at his initials for a few moments.  They were a sign of Ianto’s deep love for him and they deserved to be revered and worshiped by him.

The Immortal traced the path with his fingers before his lips followed with light, butterfly kisses.  The noises Ianto was making deepened in intensity making Jack ache for more.

Once the initials were traced for the second time Jack stood and pulled Ianto’s back to his chest.  His began to suck at the Welshman’s shoulder while his hands worked at undoing his husband’s belt and flies.

Jack moved back again to let the trousers fall and, after sliding down his boxers to that he could nibble a little at Ianto’s magnificent arse, the Immortal returned again to his husband’s front.

He knelt before the Welshman and teased Ianto’s cock with his tongue as he helped his husband out of his shoes and the rest of his clothes.

Jack roamed Ianto’s naked body with fingers and lips as he manoeuvred his husband onto the bed.  On the way he grabbed the Welshman’s tie and used it to carefully secure the man he loved to the bed.

“Jack will you be in me tonight?  We won’t get so many opportunities when you’re all big and sexy,” Ianto said throwing the Immortal off guard.

“I am not getting fat and you’re a fine one to talk considering the amount you’ve been eating these past few months,” Jack said a little hurt.

Ianto’s metabolism had slowed down but he still ate more than he used to.  Jack on the other hand seemed to be the one who now veered between begin hungry and horny since they returned to Cardiff.

“Sexy?” Jack queried as his brain fully caught up with what his husband had said.

“I’m not an expert but when a person gets pregnant their stomach generally expands to accommodate the baby.  I didn’t like to mention it but I’ve always had this thing about pregnant women.  Lisa said that was the only time I ever had a roaming eye.

“I never really noticed it until Karen in accounts got pregnant.  I suddenly noticed her when before I thought she was ugly, Lisa was quite relieved when she went on her Maternity Leave.

“Master Dorset said that I’m attracted to the life force generated when a woman carries a child.  I have never felt that as intensely as I do with you right now,” Ianto said smiling happily at Jack.

“I’m pregnant?” Jack whispered.

Since their return to Cardiff Jack had insisted on bottoming for Ianto.  Another part of his insecurity these last few months was the lingering fear that he would never carry his husband’s child.

“I’m pregnant,” he repeated.

“Yes,” Ianto said gently his voice brimming with love.

Jack sat back on the bed stunned.  His hand ran over his stomach as though he couldn’t quite believe it.

“I thought you’d be happy,” Jack said as in the silence Ianto’s face fell.

“I’m overjoyed beyond words,” the Welshman replied smiling again.

“But?” Jack prompted nervously.

“I can’t show you off,” Ianto replied blushing.

“What?”

“Proud husbands like to show off their pregnant wives, like the world to know that they are about to be a father.  I can’t do that and I really really want to,” Ianto said softly.

Warm pleasure flooded through Jack. 

Ianto was proud of him, proud of fathering their child.  His husband didn’t feel pride that often and it made him happy because it was an extension of the Welshman’s love.

“You could,” Jack said quietly and enjoyed the way Ianto’s eyebrow’s rose.

“When we were captured by Firebrand I finally told the Doctor that we were trying to have a baby.  You were right he was happy for us.

“He said that when I reached my third month he could take us to the future, somewhere safe where we could have the baby.

“I know this is our home, it’s where our family and friends are...”

“I would like that,” Ianto said quietly silencing Jack’s nervous babble.

“You would?”

“I’m not saying that I don’t have the utmost confidence that Martha could deliver our child safely, but in the future they have the technology to deal with our situation.

“Besides you’ve had to live in the Twenty-First Century to be with me I don’t see why I shouldn’t live for a while in the Fifty-First Century to be with you,” the way Ianto’s brow furrowed suggested he hadn’t got that sentence quite right but Jack didn’t care.

He kissed Ianto with all the passion of his being.

Jack felt incredibly happy at that moment.  He was going to have a child with the man he loved, a man prepared to leave his time for him.

For a few moments he had no more words just passionate lovemaking to communicate with.

Then he realised he could feel Ianto’s arms around him, holding him, yet he could see that his arms secured by a red tie to the bedpost.

He pulled back a second in puzzlement and Ianto smiled.  A smile that became a grin as Jack gasped at the feel of his top shirt button undoing.

“Ever since we got back from London there have been two fantasies warring in your head, the first is getting me to Rome, tying me up and sending me to sleep with a series drawn out sensual orgasms,” Ianto said his voice deep with seductive arousal as more of Jack’s shirt buttons came undone.

“In the second we explore the delights of having a telekinetic lover,” Ianto added as the shirt finally opened and phantom fingers roamed Jack’s torso.

“The headaches?”

“I think Enid’s use of my abilities helped me get used to them.  I’ve been practicing at home and I don’t get them anymore as long as I don’t lift anything too large.

“I wanted to make tonight special for you,” Ianto said smiling.

“Ianto Harkness-Jones every night with you is special whether we make love or spend all night watching DVD’s of Sherlock Holmes.

“But that doesn’t mean I want you to stop doing that,” Jack added hastily as he felt those phantom fingers withdraw.

He looked down at Ianto and saw that he was teasing.

Jack bent down and began to kiss along the length of Ianto’s body.  Those phantom fingers returned undoing his flies and touching his cock.

He got off the bed long enough to remove the rest of his clothes.  Jack returned to teasing his husband’s body and realised that he’d left the lube in his pocket.

The Immortal felt something nudge his shoulder and turned to see the required lube floating in the air.  Ianto grinned at him smugly and Jack licked the length of his cock to make that smile into a wanton moan.

Jack took Ianto’s length into his mouth as his fingers worked to open his husband.  The closer the Welshman got to orgasm the more erratic those phantom touches became.

As Ianto came it took all of Jack’s concentration not to come with him.

 

Jack felt like his whole being was bombarded with pleasure and love, Ianto radiated it, touched every nerve in the Immortal for those moments of climax.

He was too stunned for words.  As Ianto’s aftershocks calmed all he could do was stare at his beautiful husband.

Ianto smiled.

“Just to let you know, that’s what I’ve felt every time you’ve done that since we came back from London.  I’ve held back because I wanted tonight to be special, I’m not going to do that again, hold back that is, ever,” Ianto promised.

Jack reached up and carefully undid the tie holding Ianto’s arms up.  Gently he kissed his husband’s wrists and then his lips.

Silently, gently Jack slicked himself up and slid inside Ianto.  Instantly he felt complete, felt that there were never going to be any barriers between them and the love they felt again.

He moved slowly in and out of Ianto, loving the feel of real fingers as they moved over his back and cupped his arse.

Both men couldn’t stop kissing, couldn’t stop touching, couldn’t stop the feelings they both felt until the world faded unto just each other.

They came together and Jack felt the pleasure and love flood his senses with deeper intensity than before, so that there were no thoughts, no reason, only passion.

They rolled onto their side and held each other, bodies still entwined for several minutes after the aftershocks faded. 

It was a good half an hour before Jack was cognisant enough to realise the experience of making love to Ianto had intensified because his husband could feel his love in the same way at that climatic moment.

They made love again and again until their bodies finally succumbed to blissful exhaustion.

It would not be until they came home a month later that they would learn that across the globe that night everyone felt love, including three alien invasion forces who all left the Earth in peace.

 

Fin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you enjoyed this story. When I wrote this story I also wrote a one-shot prequel called Alternative Lives which told the story of what happened to Mickey and the Ianto from Pete's Universe, plus a little bit more about the relationship between him and Martha. When I read it in preparation for posting it here, I decided that it would actually benefit from being longer, so I have begun work on expanding it, however my posting of it will be slightly delayed by my December project and another story that wanted my attention. I hope when I get around to posting it, those who are interested will feel the wait was worth it.


End file.
